THE  DISCOVERY 


YELLOWSTONE  PARK 


N.  P.  l^h^GfcRD 


>\3^ 


^^.j^^ 


^s^ 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

From  the 
Francis  P.  Farquhar 
Exploration  Library 

Gift  of 

The  Marjory  Bridge  Farquhar 

1972  Trust 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/diaryofwashburneOOIangrich 


DIARY 


OF    THE 


Washburn  Expedition 


TO    THE 


Yellowstone  and  Firehole 
Rivers 


In   the  Year   1870 


BY 
NATHANIEL  PITT  LANGFORD 


Copyright,  1905, 

BY 

NATHANIEL  PITT  LANGFORD 


INTRODUCTION 


When  the  rumored  discovery  in  the  year  1861  of  extensive 
gold  placers  on  Salmon  river  was  confirmed,  the  intelligence 
spread  through  the  states  like  wild  fire.  Hundreds  of  men 
with  dependent  families,  who  had  been  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment by  the  depressed  industrial  condition  of  the  coun- 
try and  by  the  Civil  War,  and  still  others  actuated  by  a 
thirst  for  gain,  utilized  their  available  resources  in  provid- 
ing means  for  an  immediate  migration  to  the  land  of  prom- 
ise. Before  midsummer  they  had  started  on  the  long  and 
perilous  journey.  How  little  did  they  know  of  its  expo- 
sures !  The  deserts,  destitute  of  water  and  grass,  the  alka- 
line plains  where  food  and  drink  were  alike  affected  by  the 
poisonous  dust,  the  roving  bands  of  hostile  Indians,  the 
treacherous  quicksands  of  river  fords,  the  danger  and  diffi- 
culty of  the  mountain  passes,  the  death  of  their  companions, 
their  cattle  and  their  horses,  breakage  of  their  vehicles, 
angry  and  often  violent  personal  altercations — all  these  fled 
in  the  light  of  the  summer  sun,  the  vernal  beauty  of  the 
plains  and  the  delightfully  pure  atmosphere  which  wooed 
them  day  by  day  farther  away  from  the  abode  of  civilization 
and  the  protection  of  law.     The  most  fortunate  of  this  army 


iv  Introduction. 

of  adventurers  suffered  from  some  of  these  fruitful  causes  of 
disaster.  So  certain  were  they  to  occur  in  some  form  that 
a  successful  completion  of  the  journey  was  simply  an  escape 
from  death.  The  story  of  the  Indian  murders  and  cruelties 
alone,  which  befell  hundreds  of  these  hapless  emigrants, 
would  fill  volumes.  Every  mile  of  the  several  routes  across 
the  continent  was  marked  by  the  decaying  carcasses  of  oxen 
and  horses,  which  had  perished  during  the  period  of  this 
hegira  to  the  gold  mines.  Three  months  with  mules  and 
four  with  oxen  were  necessary  to  make  the  journey — a  jour- 
ney now  completed  in  five  days  from  ocean  to  ocean  by  the 
railroad.  Some  of  these  expeditions,  after  entering  the  un- 
explored region  which  afterwards  became  Montana,  were 
arrested  by  the  information  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
cross  with  wagon  teams  the  several  mountain  ranges  be- 
tween them  and  the  mines. 

In  the  summer  of  1862  a  company  of  130  persons  left  St. 
Paul  for  the  Salmon  river  mines.  This  Northern  overland 
expedition  was  confided  to  the  leadership  of  Captain  James 
L.  Fisk,  whose  previous  frontier  experience  and  unquestion- 
able personal  courage  admirably  fitted  him  for  the  command 
of  an  expedition  which  owed  so  much  of  its  final  success,  as 
well  as  its  safety  during  a  hazardous  journey  through  a  re- 
gion occupied  by  hostile  Indians,  to  the  vigilance  and  dis- 
cipline of  its  commanding  officer.  E.  H.  Burritt  was  first 
assistant,  the  waiter  was  second  assistant  and  commissary, 
and  Samuel  R.  Bond  w^as  secretary.  Among  those  who  were 
selected  for  guard  duty  were  David  E.  Folsom,  Patrick  Do- 
herty  (Baptiste),  Robert  C.  Knox,  Patrick  Bray,  Cornelius 
Bray,  Ard  Godfrey,  and  many  other  well  known  pioneers  of 
Montana.  We  started  with  ox  teams  on  this  journey  on  the 
16th  day  of  June,  traveling  by  the  way  of  Fort  Abercrombie, 
old  Fort  Union,  Milk  river  and  Fort  Benton,  bridging  all  the 
streams  not  fordable  on  the  entire  route.     Fort  Union  and 


Introduction.  v 

Fort  Benton  were  not  United  States  military  forts,  but  were 
the  old  trading  posts  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 

This  Northern  overland  route  of  over  1,600  miles,  lay  for 
most  of  the  distance  through  a  partially  explored  region, 
filled  with  numerous  bands  of  the  hostile  Sioux  Indians. 
It  was  the  year  of  the  Sioux  Indian  massacre  in  Minnesota. 
After  a  continuous  journey  of  upwards  of  eighteen  weeks 
we  reached  Grasshopper  creek  near  the  head  of  the  Mis- 
souri on  the  23d  day  of  October,  with  our  supply  of  pro- 
visions nearly  exhausted,  and  with  cattle  sore-footed  and 
too  much  worn  out  to  continue  the  journey.  There  we 
camped  for  the  winter  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  400 
miles  from  the  nearest  settlement  or  postoffice,  from  which 
we  were  separated  by  a  region  of  mountainous  country,  ren- 
dered nearly  impassable  in  the  winter  by  deep  snows,  and 
beset  for  the  entire  distance  by  hostile  Indians.  Dishearten- 
ing as  the  prospect  was,  we  felt  that  it  would  not  do  to  give 
way  to  discouragement.  A  few  venturesome  prospectors 
from  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  had  found  gold 
in  small  quantities  on  the  bars  bordering  the  stream,  and  a 
few  traders  had  followed  in  their  wake  with  a  limited  supply 
of  the  bare  necessaries  of  life,  risking  the  dangers  of  Indian 
attack  by  the  way  to  obtain  large  profits  as  a  rightful  re- 
ward for  their  temerity.  Flour  was  worth  75  cents  per 
pound  in  greenbacks,  and  prices  of  other  commodities  were 
in  like  proportion,  and  the  placer  unpromising;  and  many 
of  the  unemployed  started  out,  some  on  foot,  and  some  be- 
stride their  worn-out  animals,  into  the  bleak  mountain  wil- 
derness, in  search  of  gold.  With  the  certainty  of  death  in 
its  most  horrid  form  if  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  band  of 
prowling  Blackfeet  Indians,  and  the  thought  uppermost  in 
their  minds  that  they  could  scarcely  escape  freezing,  surely 
the  hope  which  sustained  this  little  band  of  wanderers 
lacked  none  of  those  grand  elements  which  sustained  the 


vi  Introduction. 

early  settlers  of  our  country  in  their  days  of  disaster  and 
suffering.  Men  who  cavil  with  Providence  and  attribute  to 
luck  or  chance  or  accident  the  escape  from  massacre  and 
starvation  of  a  comi)any  of  destitute  men,  under  circum- 
stances like  these,  are  either  wanting  in  gratitude  or  have 
never  been  overtaken  by  calamity.  My  recollection  of  those 
gloomy  days  is  all  the  more  vivid  because  I  was  among  the 
indigent  ones. 

This  region  was  then  the  rendezvous  of  the  Bannack  In- 
dians, and  we  named  the  settlement  "Bannack,"  not  the 
Scotch  name  "Bannock,"  now  often  given  to  it. 

Montana  was  organized  as  a  territory  on  the  26th  day  of 
May,  1864,  and  I  continued  to  reside  in  that  territory  until 
the  year  1876,  being  engaged  chiefly  in  official  business  of 
a  character  which  made  it  necessary,  from  time  to  time, 
for  me  to  visit  all  portions  of  the  territory.  It  is  a 
beautiful  country.  Nature  displays  her  wonders  there 
upon  the  most  magnificent  scale.  Lofty  ranges  of  moun- 
tains, broad  and  fertile  valleys,  streams  broken  into  tor- 
rents are  the  scenery  of  every-day  life.  These  are  rendered 
enjoyable  by  clear  skies,  pure  atmosphere  and  invigorating 
climate. 

Ever  since  the  first  year  of  my  residence  there  I  had  fre- 
quently heard  rumors  of  the  existence  of  wonderful  phe- 
nomena in  the  region  where  the  Yellowstone,  Wind,  Snake 
and  other  large  rivers  take  their  rise,  and  as  often  had  de- 
termined to  improve  the  first  opportunity  to  visit  and  ex- 
plore it,  but  had  been  deterred  by  the  presence  of  unusual 
and  insurmountable  dangers.  It  was  at  that  time  inhabited 
only  by  wild  beasts  and  roving  bands  of  hostile  Indians.  An 
occasional  trapper  or  old  mountaineer  were  the  only  white 
persons  who  had  ever  seen  even  those  portions  of  it  nearest 
to  civilization,  previous  to  the  visit  of  David  E.  Folsom 
and  C.  W.  Cook  in  the  year  1869.     Of  these  some  had  seen 


JAMES  BRIDGER. 


Introduction.  vii 

one,  some  another  object  of  interest;  but  as  they  were  all 
believed  to  be  romancers  their  stories  were  received  with 
great  distrust. 

The  old  mountaineers  of  Montana  were  generally  regarded 
as  great  fabricators.  I  have  met  with  many,  but  never  one 
who  was  not  fond  of  practicing  upon  the  credulity  of  those 
who  listened  to  the  recital  of  his  adventures.  James 
Bridger,  the  discoverer  of  Great  Salt  lake,  who  had  a  large 
experience  in  wild  mountain  life,  wove  so  much  of  romance 
around  his  Indian  adventures  that  his  narrations  were  gen- 
erally received  with  many  grains  of  allowance  by  his  listen- 
ers. Probably  no  man  ever  had  a  more  varied  and  inter- 
esting experience  during  a  long  period  of  sojourning  on  the 
western  plains  and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  than  Bridger, 
and  he  did  not  hesitate,  if  a  favorable  occasion  offered,  to 
^'guy"  the  unsophisticated.  At  one  time  Avhen  in  camp  near 
"Pumpkin  Butte,"  a  well-known  landmark  near  Fort  Lara- 
mie, rising  a  thousand  feet  or  more  above  the  surrounding 
plain,  a  young  attache  of  the  party  approached  Mr.  Bridger, 
and  in  a  rather  patronizing  manner  said:  "Mr.  Bridger, 
they  tell  me  that  you  have  lived  a  long  time  on  these  plains 
and  in  the  mountains."  Mr.  Bridger,  pointing  toward 
"Pumpkin  Butte,"  replied:  "Young  man,  you  see  that 
butte  over  there!  Well,  that  mountain  was  a  hole  in  the 
ground  when  I  came  here." 

Bridger's  long  sojourn  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  com- 
menced as  early  as  the  year  1820,  and  in  1832  we  find  him  a 
resident  partner  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company.  He 
frequently  spent  periods  of  time  varying  from  three  months 
to  two  years,  so  far  removed  from  any  settlement  or  trading 
post,  that  neither  flour  nor  bread  stuffs  in  any  form  could  be 
obtained,  the  only  available  substitute  for  bread  being  the 
various  roots  found  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region. 


viii  Introduction. 

I  first  became  acquainted  with  Bridger  in  the  year  1866. 
He  was  then  employed  by  a  wagon  road  company,  of  which 
I  was  president,  to  conduct  the  emigration  from  the  states 
to  Montana,  by  way  of  Fort  Laramie,  the  Big  Horn  river 
and  Emigrant  gulch.  He  told  me  in  Virginia  City,  Mont., 
at  that  time,  of  the  existence  of  hot  spouting  springs  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  source  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Madison  rivers, 
and  said  that  he  had  seen  a  column  of  water  as  large  as  his 
body,  spout  as  high  as  the  flag  pole  in  Virginia  City,  which 
was  about  sixty  (60)  feet  high.  The  more  I  pondered 
upon  this  statement,  the  more  I  was  impressed  with  the 
probability  of  its  truth.  If  he  had  told  me  of  the  existence 
of  falls  one  thousand  feet  high,  I  should  have  considered  his 
story  an  exaggeration  of  a  phenomenon  he  had  really  be- 
held; but  I  did  not  think  that  his  imagination  was  suffi- 
ciently fertile  to  originate  the  story  of  the  existence  of  a 
spouting  geyser,  unless  he  had  really  seen  one,  and  I  there- 
fore was  inclined  to  give  credence  to  his  statement,  and  to 
believe  that  such  a  wonder  did  really  exist. 

I  w^as  the  more  disposed  to  credit  his  statement,  because 
of  what  I  had  previously  read  in  the  report  of  Captain  John 
Mullan,  made  to  the  war  department.  From  my  present 
examination  of  that  report,  which  was  made  Feb.  14,  1863, 
and  a  copy  of  which  I  still  have  in  my  possession,  I  find 
that  Captain  Mullan  says: 

I  learned  from  the  Indians,  and  afterwards  confirmed  by 
my  own  explorations,  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  an 
infinite  number  of  hot  springs  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Missouri,  Columbia  and  Yellowstone  rivers,  and  that  hot 
geysers,  similar  to  those  of  California,  exist  at  the  head  of 
the  Yellowstone. 

Again  he  speaks  of  the  isochimenal  line  (a  line  of  even 
winter  temperature),  which  he  says  reaches  from  Fort  Lara- 


»  ^"'  • 


Introduction. 


IX 


mie  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Yellowstone,  at  the  hot  spring 
and  geysers  of  that  stream,  and  continues  thence  to  the 
Beaver  Head  valley,  and  he  adds : 

This  is  as  true  as  it  is  strange,  and  shows  unerringly  that 
there  exists  in  this  zone  an  atmospheric  river  of  heat, 
flowing  through  this  region,  varying  in  width  from  one  to 
one  hundred  miles,  according  to  the  physical  face  of  the 
country. 

As  early  as  the  year  1866  I  first  considered  the  possibility 
of  organizing  an  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the 
Upper  Yellowstone  to  its  source.  The  first  move  which  I 
made  looking  to  this  end  was  in  1867  and  the  next  in  1868 ; 
but  these  efforts  ended  in  nothing  more  than  a  general  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  of  an  exploration,  the  most  potent 
factor  in  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise  being  the  threat- 
ened outbreaks  of  the  Indians  in  Gallatin  valley. 

The  following  year  (1869)  the  project  was  again  revived, 
and  plans  formed  for  an  expedition ;  but  again  the  hostility 
of  the  Indians  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  our  pur- 
pose of  exploration.  Hon.  David  E.  Folsom  was  enrolled  as 
one  of  the  members  of  this  expedition,  and  when  it  was 
found  that  no  large  party  could  be  organized,  Mr.  Folsom 
and  his  partner,  C.  W.  Cook,  and  Mr.  Peterson  (a  helper 
on  the  Folsom  ranch),  in  the  face  of  the  threatened  dangers 
from  Indians,  visited  the  Grand  Canon,  the  falls  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone and  Yellowstone  lake,  and  then  turned  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  emerging  into  the  Lower  Geyser  basin, 
where  they  found  a  geyser  in  action,  the  water  of  which, 
says  Mr.  Folsom  in  his  record  of  the  expedition,  "came  rush- 
ing up  and  shot  into  the  air  at  least  eighty  feet,  causing  us 
to  stampede  for  higher  ground." 

Mr.  Folsom,  in  speaking  of  the  various  efforts  made  to 
organize  an  expedition  for  exploration  of  the  Y'ellowstone 
savs: 


X  Introduction. 

In  18G7,  an  exploring  expedition  from  Virginia  City, 
Montana  Territory,  was  talked  of,  but  for  some  unknown 
reason,  probably  for  the  want  of  a  sufficient  number  to 
engage  in  it,  it  was  abandoned.  The  next  year  another  was 
planned,  which  ended  like  the  first — in  talk.  Early  in  the 
summer  of  1860  the  newspapers  throughout  the  Territory 
announced  that  a  party  of  citizens  from  Helena,  Virginia 
City  and  Bozeman,  accompanied  by  some  of  the  officers 
stationed  at  Fort  Ellis,  with  an  escort  of  soldiers,  would 
leave  Bozeman  about  the  fifth  of  September  for  the  Yel- 
lowstone country,  with  the  intention  of  making  a  through 
examination  of  all  the  wonders  w^ith  which  the  region  was 
said  to  abound.  The  party  was  expected  to  be  limited  in 
numbers  and  to  be  composed  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
men  in  the  Territory,  and  the  writer  felt  extremely  flat- 
tered when  his  earnest  request  to  have  his  name  added  to 
the  list  was  granted.  He  joined  with  two  personal  friends 
in  getting  an  outfit,  and  then  waited  patiently  for  the  other 
members  of  the  party  to  perfect  their  arrangements.  About 
a  month  before  the  day  fixed  for  starting,  some  of  the 
members  began  to  discover  that  pressing  business  engage- 
ments would  prevent  their  going.  Then  came  news  from 
Fort  Ellis  that,  owing  to  some  changes  made  in  the  dis- 
position of  troops  stationed  in  the  Territory,  the  military 
portion  of  the  party  would  be  unable  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion; and  our  party,  which  had  now  dwindled  down  to  ten 
or  twelve  persons,  thinking  it  would  be  unsafe  for  so  small 
a  number  to  venture  where  there  was  a  strong  probability 
of  meeting  with  hostile  Indians,  also  abandoned  the  under- 
taking. But  the  writer  and  his  two  friends  before  men- 
tioned, believing  that  the  dangers  to  be  encountered  had 
been  magnified,  and  trusting  by  vigilance  and  good  luck  to 
avoid  them,  resolved  to  attempt  the  journey  at  all  hazards. 

We  provided  ourselves  with  five  horses — three  of  them 
for  the  saddle,  and  the  other  two  for  carrying  our  cooking 
utensils,  ammunition,  fishing  tackle,  blankets  and  buffalo 
robes,  a  pick,  and  a  pan,  a  shovel,  an  axe,  and  provisions 
necessary  for  a  six  weeks'  trip.  We  were  all  well  armed 
with  repeating  rifles,  Colt's  six-shooters  and  sheath-knives. 


d.fU/.Oc^^ 


Introduction.  xi 

and  had  besides  a  double  barreled  shotgun  for  small  game. 
We  also  had  a  good  field  glass,  a  pocket  compass  and  a 
thermometer. 

Mr.  Folsom  followed  the  Yellowstone  to  the  lake  and 
crossed  over  to  the  Firehole,  which  he  followed  up  as  far 
as  Che  Excelsior  geyser  (not  then  named),  but  did  not  visit 
the  Upper  Geyser  basin.  On  his  return  to  Helena  he  related 
to  a  few  of  his  intimate  friends  many  of  the  incidents  of  his 
journey,  and  Mr.  Samuel  T.  Hauser  and  I  invited  him  to 
meet  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Helena  at  the  directors' 
room  of  the  First  National  Bank  in  Helena ;  but  on  assem- 
bling there  were  so  many  present  who  were  unknown  to  Mr. 
Folsom  that  he  was  unwilling  to  risk  his  reputation  for  ver- 
acity, by  a  full  recital,  in  the  presence  of  strangers,  of  the 
wonders  he  had  seen.  He  said  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
regarded  as  a  liar  by  those  who  were  unacquainted  with  his 
reputation.  But  the  accounts  which  he  gave  to  Hauser 
Gillette  and  myself  renewed  in  us  our  determination  to  visit 
that  region  during  the  following  year.  Mr.  Folsom,  how- 
ever, sent  to  the  Western  Monthly  of  Chicago  a  carefully 
prepared  account  of  his  expedition,  which  that  magazine 
published  in  July,  1870,  after  cutting  out  some  of  the  most 
interesting  portions  of  the  story,  thus  destroying  in  some 
measure  the  continuity  of  the  narrative.  The  office  of  the 
Western  Monthly  was  destroyed  by  fire  before  the  copies 
of  the  magazine  containing  Mr.  Folsom's  article  were  dis- 
tributed, and  the  single  copy  which  Mr.  Folsom  possessed 
and  which  he  presented  to  the  Historical  Society  of  Montana 
met  a  like  fate  in  the  great  Helena  fire.  The  copy  which  I 
possessed  and  which  I  afterwards  presented  to  that  Society 
is  doubtless  the  only  original  copy  now  in  existence;  and, 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  history  of  the  initial  step 
which    eventuated    in    the    creation    of    the    Yellowstone 


xii  Introduction. 

National  Park,  I  re-published,  in  the  year  1894,  500  copies 
of  Mr.  Folsom's  narrative,  for  distribution  among  those 
most  interested  in  that  exploration. 

In  the  spring  of  1870,  while  in  St.  Paul,  I  had  an  inter- 
view with  Major  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock,  during 
which  he  showed  great  interest  in  the  plan  of  exploration 
which  I  outlined  to  him,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  obtain 
additional  information  concerning  the  Yellowstone  country 
which  would  be  of  service  to  him  in  the  disposition  of  troops 
for  frontier  defense,  and  he  assured  me  that,  unless  some 
unforeseen  exigency  prevented,  he  would,  when  the  time  ar- 
rived, give  a  favorable  response  to  our  application  for  a 
military  escort,  if  one  were  needed.  Mr.  Hauser  also  had  a 
conference  with  General  Hancock  about  the  same  time,  and 
received  from  him  like  assurances. 

About  the  1st  of  August,  1870,  our  plans  took  definite 
shape,  and  some  twenty  men  were  enrolled  as  members  of 
the  exploring  party.  About  this  time  the  Crow  Indians 
again  "broke  loose,"  and  a  raid  of  the  Gallatin  and  Yellow- 
stone valleys  was  threatened,  and  a  majority  of  those  who 
had  enrolled  their  names,  experiencing  that  decline  of  cour- 
age so  aptly  illustrated  by  Bob  Acres,  suddenly  found  excuse 
for  withdrawal  in  various  emergent  occupations. 

After  a  few  days  of  suspense  and  doubt,  Samuel  T.  Hauser 
told  me  that  if  he  could  find  two  men  whom  he  knew,  who 
would  accompany  him,  he  would  attempt  the  journey ;  and 
he  asked  me  to  join  him  in  a  letter  to  James  Stuart,  living 
at  Deer  Lodge,  proposing  that  he  should  go  with  us.  Ben- 
jamin Stickney,  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  of  our  num- 
ber, also  wrote  to  Mr.  Stuart  that  there  were  eight  persons 
who  would  go  at  all  hazards  and  asked  him  (Stuart)  to  be 
a  member  of  the  party.  Stuart  replied  to  Hauser  and  my- 
self as  follows: 


Introduction.  xiii 

Deer  Lodge  City,  M.  T.,  Aug.  9th,  1870. 
Dear  Sam  and  Langford: 

Stickney  wrote  me  that  the  Yellow  Stone  party  had 
dwindled  down  to  eight  persons.  That  is  not  enough  to 
stand  guard,  and  I  won't  go  into  that  country  without  hav- 
ing a  guard  every  night.  From  present  news  it  is  probable 
that  the  Crows  will  be  scattered  on  all  the  headwaters  of 
the  Yellow  Stone,  and  if  that  is  the  case,  they  would  not 
want  any  better  fun  than  to  clean  up  a  party  of  eight  (that 
does  not  stand  guard)  and  say  that  the  Sioux  did  it,  as  they 
said  when  they  went  through  us  on  the  Big  Horn.  It  will 
not  be  safe  to  go  into  that  country  with  less  than  fifteen 
men,  and  not  very  safe  with  that  number.  I  would  like  it 
better  if  it  was  fight  from  the  start;  we  would  then  kill 
every  Crow  that  we  saw,  and  take  the  chances  of  their 
rubbing  us  out.  As  it  is,  we  will  have  to  let  them  alone 
until  they  will  get  the  best  of  us  by  stealing  our  horses  or 
killing  some  of  us;  then  we  will  be  so  crippled  that  we 
can't  do  them  any  damage. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  letter  I  said  I  would  not 
go  unless  the  party  stood  guard.    I  will  take  that  back,  for 

I  am  just  d d  fool  enough  to  go  anywhere  that  anybody 

else  is  willing  to  go,  only  I  want  it  understood  that  very 
likely  some  of  us  will  lose  our  hair.  I  will  be  on  hand  Sun- 
day evening,  unless  I  hear  that  the  trip  is  postponed. 

Fraternallv  yours, 

JAS.  STUART. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  received  a  telegram  say- 
ing, "twelve  of  us  going  certain."  Glad  to  hear  it — the 
more  the  better.  Will  bring  two  pack  horses  and  one  pack 
saddle. 

I  have  preserved  this  letter  of  James  Stuart  for  the  thirty- 
five  years  since  it  was  received.  It  was  written  with  a 
lead  pencil  on  both  sides  of  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  I  insert 
here  a  photograph  of  a  half-tone  reproduction  of  it.  It  has 
become  somewhat  illegible  and  obscure  from  repeated  fold- 
ing and  unfolding. 


XIY 


Introduction. 


Introduction.  xv 


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k     . 

Mr.  Stuart  was  a  man  of  large  experience  in  such  enter- 
prises as  that  in  which  we  were  about  to  engage,  and  was 
familiar  with  all  the  tricks  of  Indian  craft  and  sagacity; 
and  our  subsequent  experience  in  meeting  the  Indians  on 
the  second  day  of  our  journey  after  leaving  Fort  Ellis,  and 
their  evident  hostile  intentions,  justified  in  the  fullest  de- 
gree Stuart's  apprehensions. 

About  this  time  Gen.  Henry  D.  Washburn,  the  surveyor 
general  of  Montana,  joined  with  Mr.  Hauser  in  a  telegram 
to  General  Hancock,  at  St.  Paul,  requesting  him  to  provide 
the  promised  escort  of  a  company  of  cavalry.  General  Han- 
cock immediately  responded,  and  on  August  14th  tele- 
graphed an  order  on  the  commandant  at  Fort  Ellis,  near 


xvi  Introduction. 

Bozeman,  for  such  escort  as  would  be  deemed  necessary  to 
iusure  the  safety  of  our  party. 

Just  at  this  critical  time  I  received  a  letter  from  Stuart 
announcing  that  he  had  been  drawn  as  a  juryman  to  serve 
at  the  term  of  court  then  about  to  open,  and  that  as  the 
federal  judge  declined  to  excuse  him,  he  would  not  be  able 
to  join  our  party.  This  was  a  sore  and  discouraging  dis- 
appointment both  to  Hauser  and  myself,  for  we  felt  that  in 
case  we  had  trouble  with  the  Indians  Stuart's  services  to  the 
party  would  be  worth  those  of  half  a  dozen  ordinary  men. 

A  new  roster  was  made  up,  and  I  question  if  there  was 
ever  a  body  of  men  organized  for  an  exploring  expedition, 
more  intelligent  or  more  keenly  alive  to  the  risks  to  be  en- 
countered than  those  then  enrolled;  and  it  seems  proper 
that  I  here  speak  more  specifically  of  them. 

Gen.  Henry  D.  Washburn  was  the  surveyor  general  of 
Montana  and  had  been  brevetted  a  major  general  for  serv- 
ices in  the  Civil  War,  and  had  served  two  terms  in  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States.  Judge  Cornelius  Hedges  was  a 
distinguished  and  highly  esteemed  member  of  the  Montana 
bar.  Samuel  T.  Hauser  was  a  civil  engineer,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Helena.  He  was  after- 
wards appointed  governor  of  Montana  by  Grover  Cleveland. 
Warren  C.  Gillette  and  Benjamin  Stickney  were  pioneer 
merchants  in  Montana.  Walter  Trumbull  was  assistant  as- 
sessor of  internal  revenue,  and  a"  son  of  United  States  Sen- 
ator Lyman  Trumbull  of  Illinois.  Truman  C.  Everts  was 
assessor  of  internal  revenue  for  Montana,  and  Nathaniel  P. 
Langford  (the  writer)  had  been  for  nearly  five  years  the 
United  States  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  Montana, 
and  had  been  appointed  governor  of  Montana  by  Andrew 
Johnson,  but,  owing  to  the  imbroglio  of  the  Senate  with 
Johnson,  his  appointment  was  not  confirmed. 


Introduction.  xvii 

While  we  were  disappointed  in  our  expectation  of  having 
James  Stuart  for  our  commander  and  adviser,  General 
Washburn  was  chosen  captain  of  the  party,  and  Mr.  Stick- 
ney  was  appointed  commissary  and  instructed  to  put  up  in 
proper  form  a  supply  of  provisions  sufficient  for  thirty  (30) 
days,  though  we  had  contemplated  a  limit  of  twenty-five 
(25)  days  for  our  absence.  Each  man  promptly  paid  to 
Mr.  Stickney  his  share  of  the  estimated  expense.  When  all 
these  preparations  had  been  made,  Jake  Smith  requested 
permission  to  be  enrolled  as  a  member  of  our  company. 
Jake  was  constitutionally  unfitted  to  be  a  member  of  such 
a  party  of  exploration,  where  vigilance  and  alertness  were 
essential  to  safety  and  success.  He  was  too  inconsequent 
and  easy  going  to  command  our  confidence  or  to  be  of  much 
assistance.  He  seemed  to  think  that  his  good-natured  non- 
sense would  always  be  a  passport  to  favor  and  be  accepted 
in  the  stead  of  real  service,  and  in  my  association  with  him 
I  was  frequently  reminded  of  the  youth  who  announced  in 
a  newspaper  advertisement  that  he  was  a  poor  but  pious 
young  man,  who  desired  board  in  a  family  where  there  were 
small  children,  and  where  his  Christian  example  would  be 
considered  a  sufficient  compensation.  Jake  did  not  share 
the  view  of  the  other  members  of  our  company,  that  in 
standing  guard,  the  sentry  should  resist  his  inclination  to 
slumber.  Mr.  Hedges,  in  his  diary,  published  in  Volume  V. 
of  the  Montana  Historical  Society  publications,  on  Septem- 
ber 13th,  thus  records  an  instance  of  insubordination  in 
standing  guard : 

-  Jake  made  a  fuss  about  his  turn,  and  Washburn  stood 
in  his  place. 

Now  that  this  and  like  incidents  of  our  journey  are  in  the 
dlm*past,  let  us  inscribe  for  his  epitaph  what  was  his  own 


xviii  Introduction. 

adopted  motto  while  doing  guard  dutv  when  menaced  by  the 
Indians  on  the  Yellowstone: 

^'REQUIESCAT  IN  PACE." 

Of  our  number,  five — General  Washburn,  Walter  Trum- 
bull, Truman  C.  Everts,  Jacob  Smith  and  Lieutenant  Doane 
— have  died.  The  five  members  now  surviving  are  Cornelius 
Hedges,  Samuel  T.  Hauser,  Warren  C.  Gillette,  Benjamin 
Stickney  and  myself. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  date  of  death  of 
either  Walter  Trumbull  or  Jacob  Smith.  Lieutenant  Doane 
died  at  Bozeman,  Montana,  May  5,  1892.  His  report  to  the 
War  Department  of  our  exploration  is  a  classic.  Major 
Chittenden  says: 

His  fine  descriptions  have  never  been  surpassed  by  any 
subsequent  writer.  Although  suffering  intense  physical  tor- 
ture during  the  greater  portion  of  the  trip,  it  did  not  ex- 
tinguish in  him  the  truly  poetic  ardor  with  which  those 
strange  phenomena  seem  to  have  inspired  him. 

Dr.  Hayden,  who  first  visited  this  region  the  year  follow- 
ing that  of  our  exploration,  says  of  Lieutenant  Doane's 
report : 

I  venture  to  state  as  my  opinion,  that  for  graphic  de- 
scription and  thrilling  interest,  it  has  not  been  surpassed 
by  any  official  report  made  to  our  government  since  the 
times  of  Lewis  and  Clark. 

Mr.  Everts  died  at  Hyattsville,  Md.,  on  the  IGth  day  of 
February,  1901,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  survived  by  his 
daughter,  Elizabeth  Everts  Verrill,  and  a  young  widow,  and 
also  a  son  nine  years  old,  born  when  Everts  was  seventy-six 
years  of  age, — a  living  monument  to  bear  testimony  to 
that  physical  vigor  and  vitality  which  carried  him  through 
the  "Thirty-seven  days  of  peril,"  when  he  was  lost  from 


Introduction.  xix 

our  party  in  the  dense  forest  on  the  southwest  shore  of 
Yellowstone  lake. 

General  Washburn  died  on  January  26,  1871,  his  death 
being  doubtless  hastened  by  the  hardships  and  exposures 
of  our  journey,  from  which  many  of  our  party  suffered  in 
greater  or  less  degree. 

In  an  eloquent  eulogistic  address  delivered  in  Helena 
January  29,  1871,  Judge  Cornelius  Hedges  said  concerning 
the  naming  of  Mount  Washburn : 

On  the  west  bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  between  Tower  Fall 
and  Hell-broth  springs,  opposite  the  profoundest  chasm 
of  that  marvelous  river  canon,  a  mighty  sentinel  overlook- 
ing that  region  of  wonders,  rises  in  its  serene  and  solitary 
grandeur, — Mount  Washburn, — pointing  the  way  his  en- 
franchised spirit  was  so  soon  to  soar.  He  was  the  first  to 
climb  its  bare,  bald  summit,  and  thence  reported  to  us  the 
welcome  news  that  he  saw  the  beautiful  lake  that  had  been 
the  proposed  object  of  our  journey.  By  unanimous  voice, 
unsolicited  by  him,  we  gave  the  mountain  a  name  that 
through  coming  years  shall  bear  onward  the  memory  of 
our  gallant,  generous  leader.  How  little  we  then  thought 
that  he  would  be.  the  first  to  live  only  in  memory.  *  *  * 
The  deep  forests  of  evergreen  pine  that  embosom  that  lake 
shall  typify  the  ever  green  spot  in  our  memory  where  shall 
cluster  the  pleasant  recollections  of  our  varied  experiences 
on  that  expedition. 

The  question  is  frequently  asked,  "Who  originated  the 
plan  of  setting  apart  this  region  as  a  National  Park?"  I 
answer  that  Judge  Cornelius  Hedges  of  Helena  wrote  the 
first  articles  ever  published  by  the  press  urging  the  dedica- 
cation  of  this  region  as  a  park.  The  Helena  Herald  of  Nov. 
9,  1870,  contains  a  letter  of  Mr.  Hedges,  in  which  he  advo- 
cated the  scheme,  and  in  my  lectures  delivered  in  Washing- 
ton and  New  York  in  January,  1871,  I  directed  attention  to 
Mr.  Hedges'  suggestion,  and  urged  the  passage  by  Congress 


XX  Introduction.  * 

of  an  act  setting  apart  that  region  as  a  public  park.  All 
this  was  several  months  prior  to  the  first  exploration  by  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  in  charge  of  Dr.  Hayden.  The  sug- 
gestion that  the  region  should  be  made  into  a  National  Park 
was  first  broached  to  the  members  of  our  party  on  Sep- 
tember 19,  1870,  by  Mr.  Hedges,  while  we  were  in  camp  at 
the  confluence  of  the  Firehole  and  Gibbon  rivers,  as  is  re- 
lated in  this  diary.  After  the  return  home  of  our  party,  I 
was  informed  by  General  Washburn  that  on  the  eve  of  the 
departure  of  our  expedition  from  Helena,  David  E.  Folsom 
had  suggested  to  him  the  desirability  of  creating  a  park 
at  the  grand  cailon  and  falls  of  the  Yellowstone.  This  fact 
w^as  unknown  to  Mr.  Hedges, — and.  the  boundary  lines  of 
the  proposed  park  were  extended  by  him  so  as  to  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  wider  range  of  our  explorations. 

The  bill  for  the  creation  of  the  park  was  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  by  Hon.  William  H.  Clagett,  dele- 
gate from  Montana  Territory.  On  July  9,  1894,  William 
R.  Marshall,  Secretary  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society, 
wrote  to  Mr.  Clagett,  asking  him  the  question:  *^Who  are 
entitled  to  the  principal  credit  for  the  passage  of  the  act  of 
Congress  establishing  the  Yellowstone  National  Park?''  Mr. 
Clagett  replied  as  follows : 

Coeur  d'Alene,  Idaho,  July  14th,  1894. 
Wm.  R.  Marshall, 

Secretary  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  of  July  9th  is  just  received.  I 
am  glad  that  you  have  called  my  attention  to  the  ques- 
tion, "Who  are  entitled  to  the  principal  credit  for  the  pass- 
age of  the  act  of  Congress  establishing  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park?"  The  history  of  that  measure,  as  far  as 
known  to  me,  is  as  follows,  to-wit:  In  the  fall  of  1870, 
soon  after  the  return  of  the  Washburn-Langford  party, 
two  printers  at  Deer  Lodge  City,  Montana,  went  into  the 
Firehole   basin  and  cut  a  large  number  of  poles,  intending 


de^it.  i&r^ 


Introduction.  xxi 

to  come  back  the  next  summer  and  fence  in  the  tract  of 
land  containing  the  principal  geysers,  and  hold  posses- 
sion for  speculative  purposes,  as  the  Hutchins  family  so 
long  held  the  Yosemite  valley.  One  of  these  men  was 
named  Harry  Norton.  He  subsequently  wrote  a  book  on 
the  park.  The  other  one  was  named  Brown.  He  now 
lives  in  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  both  of  them  in  the  summer 
of  1871  worked  in  the  New  Northwest  office  at  Deer  Lodge. 
When  I  learned  from  them  in  the  late  fall  of  1870  or 
spring  of  1871  what  they  intended  to  do,  I  remonstrated 
with  them  and  stated  that  from  the  description  given  by 
them  and  by  members  of  Mr.  Langford's  party,  the  whole 
region  should  be  made  into  a  National  Park  and  no  pri- 
vate proprietorship  be  allowed. 

I  w^as  elected  Delegate  to  Congress  from  Montana  in 
August,  1871,  and  after  the  election,  Nathaniel  P.  Lang- 
ford,  Cornelius  Hedges  and  myself  had  a  consultation  in 
Helena,  and  agreed  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
establish  the  Park  as  soon  as  possible,  and  before  any  per- 
son had  got  a  serious  foothold — Mr.  McCartney,  at  the 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  being  the  only  one  who  at  that  time 
had  any  improvements  made.  In  December,  1871,  Mr.  Lang- 
ford  came  to  Washington  and  remained  there  for  some 
time,  and  we  two  counseled  together  about  the  Park  proj- 
ect. I  drew  the  bill  to  establish  the  Park,  and  never  knew 
Professor  Hayden  in  connection  with  that  bill,  except  that 
I  requested  Mr.  Langford  to  get  from  him  a  description  of 
the  boundaries  of  the  proposed  Park.  There  was  some 
delay  in  getting  the  description,  and  my  recollection  is 
that  Langford  brought  me  the  description  after  consulta- 
tion with  Professor  Hayden.  I  then  filled  the  blank  in  the 
bill  with  the  description,  and  the  bill  passed  both  Houses 
of  Congress  just  as  it  was  drawn  and  without  any  change 
or  amendment  whatsoever. 

After  the  bill  was  drawn,  Langford  stated  to  me  that 
Senator  Pomeroy  of  Kansas  was  very  anxious  to  havp  the 
honor  of  introducing  the  bill  in  the  Senate;  and  as  he 
(Pomeroy)  was  the  chairman  of  the  Senate  committee  on 
Public  Lands,  in  order  to  facilitate  its  passage,  I  had  a 
clean  copy  made  of  the  bill  and  on  the  first  call  day  in  the 


xxii  Introduction. 

House,  introduced  the  original  there,  and  then  went  over 
to  the  Senate  Chamber  and  handed  the  copy  to  Senator 
Pomeroy,  who  immediately  introduced  it  in  the  Senate. 
The  bill  passed  the  Senate  first  and  came  to  the  House, 
and  passed  the  House  without  amendment,  at  a  time  when 
I  happened  to  be  at  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol,  and  hence 
I  was  not  present  when  it  actually  passed  the  House. 

Since  the  passage  of  this  bill  there  have  been  so  many 
men  who  have  claimed  the  exclusive  credit  for  its  pass- 
age, that  I  have  lived  for  twenty  years,  suffering  from  a 
chronic  feeling  of  disgust  whenever  the  subject  was  men- 
tioned. So  far  as  my  personal  knowledge  goes,  the  first 
idea  of  making  it  a  public  park  occurred  to  myself;  but 
from  information  received  from  Langford  and  others,  it 
has  always  been  my  opinion  that  Hedges,  Langford,  and 
myself  formed  the  same  idea  about  the  same  time,  and 
we  all  three  acted  together  in  Montana,  and  afterwards 
Langford  and  I  acted  with  Professor  Hayden  in  Washing- 
ton, in  the  winter  of  1871-2. 

The  fact  is  that  the  matter  was  well  under  way  before 
Professor  Hayden  was  ever  heard  of  in  connection  with 
that  measure.  When  he  returned  to  Washington  in  1871, 
he  brought  with  him  a  large  number  of  specimens  from 
different  parts  of  the  Park,  which  were  on  exhibition  in 
one  of  the  rooms  of  the  Capitol  or  in  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitute (one  or  the  other),  while  Congress  was  in  session, 
and  he  rendered  valuable  services  in  exhibiting  these  speci- 
mens and  explaining  the  geological  and  other  features  of 
the  proposed  Park,  and  between  him,  Langford  and  my- 
self, I  believe  there  was  not  a  single  member  of  Congress 
in  either  House  who  was  not  fully  posted  by  one  or  the 
other  of  us  in  personal  interviews;  so  much  so,  that  the 
bill  practically  passed  both  Houses  without  objection. 

It  has  always  been  a  pleasure  to  me  to  give  to  Professor 
Hayden  and  to  Senator  Pomeroy,  and  Mr.  Dawes  of  Mass. 
all  of  the  credit  which  they  deserve  in  connection  with 
the  passage  of  that  measure,  but  the  truth  of  the  matter 
is  that  the  origin  of  the  movement  which  created  the  Park 
was  with  Hedges,  Langford  and  myself;  and  after  Con- 


Introduction.  xxiii 

gress  met,  Langford  and  I  probably  did  two-thirds,  if  not 
three-fourths  of  all  the  work  connected  with  its  passage. 

I  think  that  the  foregoing  letter  contains  a  full  state- 
ment of  what  yoa  wish,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  be  able 
to  correct,  at  least  to  some  extent,  the  misconceptions 
which  the  selfish  vanity  of  some  people  has  occasioned  on 
the  subject.  Very  truly  yours, 


(^  #;  mf^ 


It  is  true  that  Professor  Hayden  joined  with  Mr.  Clagett 
and  myself  in  working  for  the  passage  of  the  act  of  dedica- 
tion, but  no  person  can  divide  with  Cornelius  Hedges  and 
David  E.  Folsom  the  honor  of  originating  the  idea  of  creating 
the  Yellowstone  Park. 

By  direction  of  Major  Hiram  M.  Chittenden  there  has 
been  erected  at  the  junction  of  the  Firehole  and  Gibbon 
rivers  a  large  slab  upon  which  is  inscribed  the  following 
legend : 

JUNCTION 

OF   THE 

Gibbon  and  Firehole  Rivers, 
Forming  the  Madison  Fork  of  the  Missouri. 


On  the  point  of  land  between  the  tributary  streams, 
September  19,  1870,  the  celebrated  Washburn  Expedi- 
tion, which  first  made  known  to  the  world  the  won- 
ders OF  THE  Yellowstone,  was  encamped,  and  here  was 
first  suggested  the  idea  of  setting  apart  this  region 
AS  A  National  Park. 

On  the  south  bank  of  the  Madison,  just  below  the  junc- 
tion of  these  two  streams,  and  overlooking  this  memorable 
camping  ground,  is  a  lofty  escarpment  to  which  has  ap- 


xxiv  Introduction. 

propriately   been   given   the   name   "National   Park   moun- 
tain." 

I  take  occasion  here  to  refer  to  mv  personal  connection 
with  the  Park.  Upon  the  passage  by  Congress,  on  March 
1,  1872,  of  the  act  of  dedication,  I  was  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  the  Park.  I  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office 
for  more  than  five  years,  without  compensation  of  any  kind, 
and  paying  my  own  expenses.  Soon  after  the  creation  of 
the  Park  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  received  many  appli- 
cations for  leases  to  run  for  a  long  term  of  years,  of  tracts 
of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  principal  marvels  of  that  re- 
gion, &uch  as  the  Grand  Canon  and  Falls,  the  Upper  Geyser 
basin,  etc.  These  applications  were  invariably  referred  to 
me  by  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Hon.  B.  R. 
Cowen.  It  was  apparent  from  an  examination  of  these  ap- 
plications that  the  purpose  of  the  applicants  was  to  enclose 
with  fences  their  holdings,  and  charge  visitors  an  admission 
fee.  To  have  permitted  this  would  have  defeated  the  pur- 
pose of  the  act  of  dedication.  In  many  instances  the  appli- 
cants made  earnest  pleas,  both  personally  and  through  their 
members  in  Congress,  to  the  Interior  Department  and  to 
myself  for  an  approval  of  their  applications,  offering  to 
speedily  make  improvements  of  a  value  ranging  from  |100,- 
000  to  1500,000.  I  invariably  reported  unfavorably  upon 
these  alluring  propositions,  and  in  no  instance  was  my  rec- 
ommendation overruled  by  Secretary  Cowen,  to  whom  Sec- 
retary Delano  had  given  the  charge  of  the  whole  matter, 
and  to  Judge  Cowen's  firmness  in  resisting  the  political  and 
other  influences  that  were  brought  to  bear  is  largely  due  the 
fact  that  these  early  applications  for  concessions  were  not 
granted.  A  time  should  never  come  when  the  American 
people  will  have  forgotten  the  services,  a  generation  ago, 
of  Judge  Cowen,  in  resisting  the  designs  of  unscrupulous 
men  in  their  efforts  to  secure  possession  of  the  most  impor- 


/|mMMAAAt&V^/^Xw^-6^^v^ 


Introduction.  xxv 

tant  localities  in  the  Park,  nor  the  later  services  of  George 
Bird  Grinnell,  William  Hallett  Thillips  and  U.  S.  Senator 
George  Graham  Vest,  in  the  preservation  of  the  wild  game 
of  the  Park  and  of  the  Park  itself  from  the  more  determined 
encroachments  of  private  greed. 

The  second  year  of  my  services  as  superintendent,  some  of 
my  friends  in  Congress  proposed  to  give  me  a  salary  suflS- 
ciently  large  to  pay  actual  expenses.  I  requested  them  to 
make  no  effort  in  this  behalf,  saying  that  I  feared  that  some 
successful  applicant  for  such  a  salaried  position,  giving  lit- 
tle thought  to  the  matter,  would  approve  the  applications 
for  leases;  and  that  as  long  as  I  could  prevent  the  granting 
of  any  exclusive  concessions  I  would  be  willing  to  serve  as 
superintendent  without  compensation. 

Apropos  of  my  official  connection  with  the  Park  a  third 
of  a  century  ago,  is  the  following  letter  to  me,  written  by 
George  Bird  Grinnell.  This  personal  tribute  from  one  who 
himself  has  done  so  much  in  behalf  of  the  Park  was  very 
gratifying  to  me. 

New  York,  April  29th,  1903. 
Mr.  N,  P.  Lang  ford  St»  Paul,  Minn., 

Dear  Sir :  I  am  glad  to  read  the  newspaper  cutting  from 
•the  Pioneer  Press  of  April  19th,  which  you  so  kindly  sent  me. 

In  these  daj^s  of  hurry  and  bustle,  when  events  of  impor- 
tance crowd  so  fast  on  each  other  that  the  memory  of  each 
is  necessarily  short  lived,  it  is  gratifying  to  be  reminded 
from  time  to  time  of  important  services  rendered  to  the  na- 
tion in  a  past  which,  though  really  recent,  seems  to  the 
younger  generation  far  away. 

The  service  which  you  performed  for  the  United  States, 
and  indeed  for  the  world,  in  describing  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  and  in  setting  on  foot  and  persistently  advocating  the 
plan  to  make  it  a  national  pleasure  ground,  will  always  be 
remembered;    and  it  is  well  that  public  acknowledgment 


xxvi  Introduction. 

should  be  made  of  it  occasionally,  so  that  the  men  of  this 
generation  may  not  forget  what  they  owe  to  those  of  the 
past. 

Yours  yery  truly, 

GEO.  BIRD  GRINNELL. 

The  Act  of  Congress  creating  the  Park  proyided  that  this 
region  should  be  "set  apart  for  a  public  park  or  pleasuring 
ground  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  people,"  but 
this  end  has  not  been  accomplished  except  as  the  result  of 
untiring  yigilance  and  labor  on  the  part  of  a  yery  few  per- 
sons who  haye  neyer  wayered  in  their  loyalty  to  the  Park. 
It  may  never  be  known  how  nearly  the  purposes  of  the  Act 
of  Dedication  haye  escaped  defeat;  but  a  letter  written  to 
me  by  George  Bird  Grinnell  and  an  editorial  from  Forest 
and  Stream  may  reyeal  to  visitors  who  now  enjoy  without  let 
or  hindrance  the  wonders  of  that  region,  how  narrowly  this 
"Temple  of  the  living  God,"  as  it  has  been  termed,  has  es- 
caped desecration  at  the  hands  of  avaricious  money-getters, 
and  becoming  a  "Den  of  Thieves." 

New  York,  July  25,  1905. 
Mr.  N.  P.  Langford, 

Dear  Sir:  I  am  very  glad  that  your  diary  is  to  be  pub- 
lished. It  is  something  that  1  have  long  hoped  that  we 
might  see. 

It  is  true,  as  you  say,  that  1  have  for  a  good  many  years 
done  what  I  could  toward  protecting  the  game  in  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park ;  but  what  seems  to  me  more  important  than 
that  is  that  Forest  and  Stream  for  a  dozen  years  carried  on, 
almost  single  handed,  a  fight  for  the  integrity  of  the  National 
Park.  If  you  remember,  all  through  from  1881  or  there- 
abouts to  1890  continued  eft'orts  were  being  made  to  gain 
control  of  the  park  by  one  syndicate  and  another,  or  to  run 
<i  railroad  through  it,  or  to  put  an  elevator  down  the  side 
of  the  canon — in  short,  to  use  this  public  pleasure  ground 
as  a  means  for  private  gain.  There  were  half  a  dozen  of  us 
who,  being  very  enthusiastic  about  the  park,  and,  being  in  a 
position  to  watch  legislation  at  Washington,  and  also  to 


I— ( 

o 
> 


H 

o 

R     PS 


O 

d 


Introduction.  xxvii 

know  what  was  going  on  in  the  Interior  Department,  kept 
ourselves  very  much  alive  to  the  situation  and  succeeded  in 
choking  off  half  a  dozen  of  these  projects  before  they  grew 
large  enough  to  be  made  public. 

One  of  these  men  was  William  Hallett  Phillips,  a  dear 
friend  of  mine,  a  resident  of  Washington,  a  Supreme  Court 
lawyer  with  a  large  acquaintance  there,  and  a  delightful 
fellow.  He  was  the  best  co-worker  that  any  one  could  have 
had  who  wanted  to  keep  things  straight  and  as  they  ought 
to  be. 

At  rare  intervals  I  get  out  old  volumes  of  the  Forest  and 
Stream  and  look  over  the  editorials  written  in  those  days 
with  a  mingling  of  amusement  and  sadness  as  I  recall  how 
excited  we  used  to  get,  and  think  of  the  true  fellows  who 
used  to  help,  but  who  have  since  crossed  over  to  the  other 
side. 

Yours  sincerely, 

GEO.  BIRD  GRINNELL. 

From  Forest  and  Stream,  August  20,  1904. 

SENATOR   VEST    AND  THE  NATIONAL  PARK. 

In  no  one  of  all  the  editorials  and  obituaries  written  last 
week  on  the  death  of  Senator  Vest  did  we  see  mention  made 
of  one  great  service  performed  by  him  for  the  American  peo- 
ple, and  for  which  they  and  their  descendants  should  always 
remember  him.  It  is  a  bit  of  ancient  history  now,  and 
largely  forgotten  by  all  except  those  who  took  an  active  part 
in  the  fight.  More  than  twenty  years  ago  strong  efforts  were 
made  by  a  private  corporation  to  secure  a  monopoly  of  the 
Yellowstone  National  Park  by  obtaining  from  the  govern- 
ment, contracts  giving  them  exclusive  privileges  within  the 
Park.  This  corporation  secured  an  agreement  from  the  In- 
terior Department  by  which  six  different  plots  in  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park,  each  one  covering  about  one  section  of  land — 
a  square  mile — were  to  be  leased  to  it  for  a  period  of  ten 
years.  It  was  also  to  have  a  monopoly  of  hotel,  stage  and 
telegraph  rights,  and  there  was  a  privilege  of  renewal  of  the 
concession  at  the  end  of  the  ten  years.  The  rate  to  be  paid 
for  the  concession  was  |2  an  acre. 


xxviii  Introduction. 

When  the  question  of  this  lease  came  before  Congress,  it 
was  referred  to  a  sub-committee  of  the  Committee  on  Terri- 
tories, of  which  Senator  Vest  was  chairman.  He  investi- 
gated the  question,  and  in  the  report  made  on  it  used  these 
words:  "Nothing  but  absolute  necessity,  however,  should 
permit  the  Great  National  Park  to  be  used  for  money-mak- 
ing by  private  persons,  and,  in  our  judgment,  no  such  neces- 
sity exists.  The  purpose  to  which  this  region,  matchless  in 
wonders  and  grandeur,  was  dedicated — ^a  public  park  and  a 
pleasure  ground  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  peo- 
ple'— is  worthy  the  highest  patriotism  and  statesmanship." 

The  persons  interested  in  this  lease  came  from  many  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  and  were  ably  represented  by  active 
agents  in  Washington.  The  pressure  brought  to  bear  on 
Congress  was  very  great,  and  the  more  effectively  applied, 
since  few  men  knew  much  about  conditions  in  the  Yellow- 
stone Park,  or  even  where  the  Yellowstone  Park  was.  But 
pressure  and  influence  could  not  move  Senator  Vest  when 
he  knew  he  was  right.  He  stood  like  a  rock  in  Congress,  re- 
sisting this  pressure,  making  a  noble  fight  in  behalf  of  the 
interests  of  the  people,  and  at  last  winning  his  battle.  For 
years  the  issue  seemed  doubtful,  and  for  years  it  was  true 
that  the  sole  hope  of  those  who  were  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Park,  and  who  were  fighting  the  battle  of  the  pub- 
lic, lay  in  Senator  Vest.  So  after  years  of  struggle  the  right 
triumphed,  and  the  contract  intended  to  be  made  between 
the  Interior  Department  and  the  corporation  was  never  con- 
summated. 

This  long  fight  made  evident  the  dangers  to  which  the 
Park  was  exposed,  and  showed  the  necessity  of  additional 
legislation. 

A  bill  to  protect  the  Park  was  drawn  by  Senator  Vest  and 
passed  by  Congress,  and  from  that  time  on,  until  the  day 
of  his  retirement  from  public  life.  Senator  Vest  was  ever  a 
firm  and  watchful  guardian  of  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  showing  in  this  matter,  as  in  many  others,  "the  high- 
est patriotism  and  statesmanship."  For  many  years,  from 
1882  to  1894,  Senator  Vest  remained  the  chief  defender  of  a 
National  possession  that  self-seeking  persons  in  many  parts 
of  the  country  were  trying  to  use  for  their  own  profit. 


"^  .%cLe£eZC-iPii^^^'2^ 


GEORGE  GRAHAM  VEST. 


Introduction.  xxix 

If  we  were  asked  to  mention  the  two  men  who  did  more 
than  any  other  two  men  to  save  the  National  Park  for  the 
American  people,  we  should  name  George  Graham  Vest  and 
William  Hallett  Phillips,  co-workers  in  this  good  cause. 
There  were  other  men  who  helped  them,  but  these  two  easily 
stand   foremost.        ****** 

In  the  light  of  the  present  glorious  development  of  the 
Park  it  can  be  said  of  each  one  who  has  taken  part  in  the 
work  of  preserving  for  all  time  this  great  national  pleasur- 
ing ground  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  American  people,  "He 
builded  better  than  he  knew,'' 

An  amusing  feature  of  the  identity  of  my  name  with  the 
Park  was  that  my  friends,  with  a  play  upon  my  initials, 
frequently  addressed  letters  to  me  in  the  following  style: 


The  fame  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park,  combining 
the  most  extensive  aggregation  of  wonders  in  the  world — 
wonders  unexcelled  because  nowhere  else  existing — is  now 
world-wide.  The  "Wonderland"  publications  issued  by  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway,  prepared  under  the  careful  su- 
pervision of  their  author,  Olin  D.  Wheeler,  with  their  su- 
perb illustrations  of  the  natural  scenery  of  the  park,  and 
the  illustrated  volume,  "The  Yellowstone,"  by  Major  Hiram 
M.  Chittenden,  U.  S.  Engineers,  under  whose  direction  the 
roads  and  bridges  throughout  the  Park  are  being  construct- 


XXX  Introduction. 

ed,  have  so  confirmed  the  first  accounts  of  these  wonders 
that  there  remains  now  little  of  the  incredulity  with  which 
the  narrations  of  the  members  of  our  company  were  first 
received.  The  articles  written  by  me  on  my  return  from 
the  trip  described  in  this  diary,  and  published  in  Scribner's 
(now  Century)  Magazine  for  May  and  June,  1871,  were  re- 
garded more  as  the  amiable  exaggerations  of  an  enthusi- 
astic Munchausen,  who  is  disposed  to  tell  the  whole  truth, 
and  as  much  more  as  is  necessary  to  make  an  undoubted 
sensation,  than  as  the  story  of  a  sober,  matter-of-fact  ob- 
server who  tells  what  he  has  seen  with  his  own  eyes,  and 
exaggerates  nothing.  Dr.  Holland,  one  of  the  editors  of 
that  magazine,  sent  to  me  a  number  of  uncomplimentary 
criticisms  of  my  article.  One  reviewer  said:  "This  Lang- 
ford  must  be  the  champion  liar  of  the  Northwest."  Rest- 
ing for  a  time  under  this  imputation,  I  confess  to  a  feeling 
of  satisfaction  in  reading  from  a  published  letter,  written 
later  in  the  summer  of  1871  from  the  Upper  Geyser  basin 
^j  a  member  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  the  words: 
"Langford  did  not  dare  tell  one-half  of  what  he  saw." 

Mr.  Charles  T.  Whitmell,  of  Cardiff,  Wales,  a  distin- 
guished scholar  and  astronomer,  w^ho  has  done  much  to 
bring  to  the  notice  of  our  English  brothers  the  wonders  of 
the  Park — which  he  visited  in  1883 — in  a  lecture  delivered 
before  the  Cardiff  Naturalists'  Society  on  Nov.  12,  1885, 
sought  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  his  audience  the  full 
significance  of  the  above  characterization.  He  said :  "This 
quite  unique  description  means  a  great  deal,  I  can  assure 
you ;  for  Western  American  lying  is  not  to  be  measured  by 
any  of  our  puny  European  standards  of  untruthfulness." 

But  the  writings  of  Wheeler  and  others,  running  through 
a  long  series  of  years  and  covering  an  extended  range  of  new 
discoveries,  have  vindicated  the  truthfulness  of  the  early 
explorers,  and  even  the  stories  of  Bridger  are  not  now  re- 


Introduction.  xxxi 

garded  as  exaggerations,  and  we  no  longer  write  for  his 
epitaph, 

Here  LIES  Bridger. 

As  I  recall  the  events  of  this  exploration,  made  thirty-five 
years  ago,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  bear  testimony  that  there  was 
never  a  more  unselfish  or  generous  company  of  men  asso- 
ciated for  such  an  expedition;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
importance  of  our  discoveries,  in  the  honor  of  which  each 
desired  to  have  his  just  share,  there  was  absolutely  neither 
jealousy  nor  ungenerous  rivalrj^  and  the  various  magazine 
and  newspaper  articles  first  published  clearly  show  how  the 
members  of  our  party  were  "In  honor  preferring  one  an- 
other." 

In  reviewing  my  diary,  preparatory  to  its  publication,  I 
have  occasionally  eliminated  an  expression  that  seemed  to  be 
too  personal, — a  sprinkling  of  pepper  from  the  caster  of 
my  impatience, — and  I  have  also  here  and  there  added 
an  explanatory  annotation  or  illustration.  With  this  excep- 
tion I  here  present  the  original  notes  just  as  they  were 
penned  under  the  inspiration  of  the  overwhelming  wonders 
which  everywhere  revealed  themselves  to  our  astonished 
vision ;  and  as  I  again  review  and  read  the  entries  made  in 
the  field  and  around  the  campfire,  in  the  journal  that  for 
nearly  thirty  years  has  been  lost  to  my  sight,  I  feel  all  the 
thrilling  sensations  of  my  first  impressions,  and  with  them 
is  mingled  the  deep  regret  that  our  beloved  Washburn  did 
not  live  to  see  the  triumphant  accomplishment  of  what  was 
dear  to  his  heart,  the  setting  apart  at  the  headwaters  of  the 
Yellowstone,  of  a  National  ^^public  park  or  pleasuring 
ground  for  the  benefit  and  enjoyment  of  the  people." 

NATHANIEL  PITT  LANGFORD. 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  August  9,  1905. 


^Ae    f^^jUiyl/i^o/i<- 


DIARY. 


Wednesday,  August  17,  1870. — ^In  accordance  with  the  ar- 
rangements made  last  night,  the  different  members  of  our 
party  met  at  the  agreed  rendezvous — the  office  of  General 
Washburn — at  9  o'clock  a.  m.,  to  complete  our  arrange- 
ments for  the  journey  and  get  under  way.  Our  party  con- 
sisted of  Gen.  Henry  D.  Washburn,  Cornelius  Hedges,  Sam- 
uel T.  Hauser,  Warren  C.  Gillette,  Benjamin  Stickney,  Tru- 
man C.  Everts,  Walter  Trumbull,  Jacob  Smith  and  Nathan- 
iel P.  Langford.     General  Washburn  has  been  chosen  the 

leader  of  our  party.     For  assistants  we  have  Mr.  

Reynolds  and  Elwyn  Bean,  western  slope  packers,  and  two 
African  boys  as  cooks.  Each  man  has  a  saddle  horse  fully 
rigged  with  California  saddle,  cantinas,  holsters,  etc.,  and 
has  furnished  a  pack  horse  for  transportation  of  provisions, 
ammunition  and  blankets.  There  are  but  few  of  our  party 
who  are  adepts  in  the  art  of  packing,  for  verily  it  is  an  art 
acquired  by  long  practice,  and  we  look  with  admiration  upon 
our  packers  as  they  "throw  the  rope"  with  such  precision, 
and  with  great  skill  and  rapidity  tighten  the  cinch  and  gird 
the  load  securely  upon  the  back  of  the  broncho.  Our  ponies 
have  not  all  been  tried  of  late  with  the  pack  saddle,  but  most 


2         Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

of  them  quietl}'  submit  to  the  loading.  But  now  comes  one 
that  does  not  yield  itself  to  the  manipulations  of  the  packer. 
He  stands  quiet  till  the  pack  saddle  is  adjusted,  but  the  mo- 
ment he  feels  the  tightening  of  the  cinch  he  asserts  his  inde- 
pendence of  all  restraint  and  commences  bucking.     This  ani- 


r 


PACKING  A  RECALCITRANT  MULE. 

mal  in  question  belongs  to  Gillette,  who  says  that  if  he  does 
not  stand  the  pack  he  will  use  him  for  a  saddle  horse.  If 
so,  God  save  Gillette ! 

Thursday,  August  18. — T  rode  on  ahead  of  the  party  from 
Mr.  HartzelPs  ranch,  stopping  at  Radersburg  for  dinner  and 
riding  through  a  snow  storm  to  Gallatin  City,  where  I  re- 
mained over  night  with  Major  Campbell.  General  Wash- 
burn thought  that  it  would  be  well  for  some  members  of  tlKv 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.         3 

company  to  have  a  conference,  as  early  as  possible,  with  the 
commanding  officer  at  Fort  Ellis,  concerning  an  escort  of  sol- 
diers. I  also  desired  to  confer  with  some  of  the  members  of 
the  Bozeman  Masonic  Lodge  concerning  the  lodge  troubles; 
and  it  was  for  these  reasons  that  I  rode  on  to  Bozeman  in 
advance  of  the  party. 


THE  START. 

Prickly  Pear  Valley. 


Friday,  August  19. — Rode  over  to  the  East  Gallatin  river 
with  Lieutenants  Batchelor  and  Wright,  crossing  at  Blake- 
ley's  bridge  and  reaching  Bozeman  at  7  o'clock  p.  m. 

Saturday,  August  20. — Spent  the  day  at  Bozeman  and  at 
Fort  Ellis.  I  met  the  commanding  officer,  Major  Baker,  of 
the  Second  U.  S.  Cavalry,  who  informs  me  that  nearly  all 
the  men  of  his  command  are  in  the  field  fiarhtino:  the  Indians. 


4         Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

I  informed  him  that  we  had  an  order  for  an  escort  of  sol-* 
diers,  and  he  said  that  the  garrison  was  so  weakened  that  he 
could  not  spare  more  than  half  a  dozen  men.  I  told  him 
that  six  men  added  to  our  own  roster  would  enable  us  to  do 
good  guard  duty.  The  rest  of  the  party  and  the  pack  train 
came  into  Bozeman  at  night 

This  evening  I  visited  Gallatin  Lodge  No.  6,  and  after  a 
full  consultation  with  its  principal  officers  and  members,  I 
reluctantly  decided  to  exercise  my  prerogative  as  Grand 
Master  and  arrest  the  charter  of  the  lodge  as  the  only 
means  of  bringing  to  a  close  a  grievous  state  of  dissension. 
In  justice  to  my  own  convictions  of  duty,  I  could  not  have 
adopted  any  milder  remedy  than  the  one  I  applied. 

Sunday,  August  21. — We  moved  into  camp  about  one-half 
mile  from  Fort  Ellis  on  the  East  Gallatin.  General  Wash- 
burn presented  the  order  of  Major  General  Hancock  (recom- 
mended by  General  Baird,  Inspector  General,  as  an  impor- 
tant military  necessity)  for  an  escort.  Major  Baker  re- 
peated what  he  said  to  me  yesterday,  and  he  will  detail  for 
our  service  five  soldiers  under  the  command  of  a  lieutenant, 
and  we  are  satisfied.  General  Lester  Willson  entertained  us 
at  a  bounteous  supper  last  night.  His  wife  is  a  charming 
musician. 

Monday,  August  22.— We  left  Fort  Ellis  at  11  o'clock  this 
forenoon  with  an  escort  consisting  of  five  men  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Gustavus  C.  Doane  of  the  Second  U.  S. 
Cavalry.  Lieutenant  Doane  has  kindly  allowed  me  to  copy 
the  special  order  detailing  him  for  this  service.  It  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

Headquarters  Fort  Ellis,  Montana  Territory, 

August  21,  1870. 

In  accordance  with  instructions  from  Headquarters  Dis- 
trict of  Montana,  Lieutenant  G.  C.  Doane,  Second  Cavalry, 
will  proceed  with  one  sergeant  and  four  privates  of  Com- 
pany F.  Second  Cavalry,  to  escort  the  Surveyor  General  of 


^^<:.-^^:^^^.^^ 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.         5 

Montana  to  the  falls  and  lakes  of  the  Yellowstone,  and 
return.  They  will  be  supplied  with  thirty  days'  rations, 
and  one  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition  per  man.  The 
acting  assistant  quarter-master  will  furnish  them  with  the 
necessary  transportation. 

By  order  of  Major  Baker. 

J.  G.  MacADAMS, 
First  Lieutenant  Second  Cavalry. 

Acting  Post  Adjutant. 

The  names  of  the  soldiers  are  Sergeant  William  Baker  and 
Privates  John  Williamson,  George  W.  McConnell,  William 
Leipler  and  Charles  Moore.  This  number,  added  to  our  own 
company  of  nine,  will  give  us  fourteen  men  for  guard  duty, 
a  sufficient  number  to  maintain  a  guard  of  two  at  all  times, 
with  two  reliefs  each  night,  each  man  serving  half  of  a  night 
twice  each  week.  Our  entire  number,  including  the  packers 
and  cooks,  is  nineteen  (19). 

Along  the  trail,  after  leaving  Fort  Ellis,  we  found  large 
quantities  of  the  ^'service"  berry,  called  by  the  Snake  In- 
dians "Tee-amp."  Our  ascent  of  the  Belt  range  was  some- 
what irregular,  leading  us  up  several  sharp  acclivities,  until 
we  attained  at  the  summit  an  elevation  of  nearly  two  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  valley  we  had  left.  The  scene  from  this 
point  is  excelled  in  grandeur  only  by  extent  and  variety.  An 
amphitheatre  of  mountains  200  miles  in  circumference,  en- 
closing a  valley  nearly  as  large  as  the  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
with  all  its  details  of  pinnacle,  peak,  dome,  rock  and  river, 
is  comprehended  at  a  glance.  In  front  of  us  at  a  distance 
of  twenty  miles,  in  sullen  magnificence,  rose  the  picturesque 
range  of  the  Madison,  with  the  insulated  rock.  Mount  Wash- 
ington, and  the  sharp  pinnacle  of  Ward's  Peak  prominently 
in  the  foreground.  Following  the  range  to  the  right  for  the 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  the  eye  rests  upon  that  singu- 
lar depression  where,  formed  by  the  confluent  streams  of  the 
Madison,  Jefferson  and  Gallatin,  the  mighty  Missouri  com- 


6         Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

mences  its  meanderings  to  the  Gulf.  Far  beyond  these,  in 
full  blue  outline,  are  defined  the  round  knobs  of  the  Boulder 
mountains,  stretching  away  and  imperceptibly  commingling 
with  the  distant  horizon.  At  the  left,  towering  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  circumjacent  ranges,  are  the  glowering  peaks 
of  the  Yellowstone,  their  summits  half  enveloped  in  clouds, 
or  glittering  with  perpetual  snow.  At  our  feet,  apparently 
within  jumping  distance,  cleft  centrally  by  its  arrowy  river, 
carpeted  with  verdure,  is  the  magnificent  valley  of  the  Gal- 
latin, like  a  rich  emerald  in  its  gorgeous  mountain  setting. 
Fascinating  as  was  this  scene  we  gave  it  but  a  glance,  and 
turned  our  horses'  heads  towards  the  vast  unknown.  De- 
scending the  range  to  the  east,  we  reached  Trail  creek,  a 
tributary  of  the  Yellowstone,  about  3  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, where  we  are  now  camped  for  the  night.  We  are  now 
fairly  launched  upon  our  expedition  without  the  possibility 
of  obtaining  outside  assistance  in  case  we  need  it,  and  means 
for  our  protection  have  been  fully  considered  since  we 
camped,  and  our  plans  for  guard  duty  throughout  the  trip 
have  been  arranged.  Hedges  is  to  be  my  comrade-in-arms 
in  this  service.  He  has  expressed  to  me  his  great  satisfac- 
tion that  he  is  to  be  associated  with  me  throughout  the  trip 
in  this  night  guard  duty,  and  I  am  especially  pleased  at  be- 
ing assigned  to  duty  with  so  reliable  a  coadjutor  as  Hedges, 
a  man  who  can  be  depended  upon  to  neglect  no  duty.  We 
two  are  to  stand  guard  the  first  half  of  this  first  night — that 
is,  until  1  o'clock  to-morrow  morning;  then  Washburn  and 
Hauser  take  our  places.  Fresh  Indian  signs  indicate  that 
the  red-skins  are  lurking  near  us,  and  justify  the  apprehen- 
sions expressed  in  the  letter  which  Hauser  and  I  received 
from  James  Stuart,  that  we  will  be  attacked  by  the  Crow 
Indians.*     I  am  not  entirely  free  from  anxiety.     Our  safety 


*In  his  diary  under  date  of  August  22d  General  Washburn  wrote: 
"Stood  guard.     Quite  cold.     Crows  (Indians)  near." 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.  7 

will  depend  upon  our  vigilance.  We  are  all  well  armed 
with  long  range  repeating  rifles  and  needle  guns,  though 
there  are  but  few  of  our  party  who  are  experts  at  off-hand 
shooting  with  a  revolver. 

In  the  course  of  our  discussion  Jake  Smith  expressed  his 
doubt  whether  any  member  of  our  party  except  Hauser  (who 


TAKING  A  SHOT  AT  JAKE  SMITH'S  HAT. 

is  an  expert  pistol  shot)  is  sufficiently  skilled  in  the  use  of 
the  revolver  to  hit  an  Indian  at  even  a  close  range,  and  he 
offered  to  put  the  matter  to  a  test  by  setting  up  his  hat  at  a 
distance  of  twenty  yards  for  the  boys  to  shoot  at  with  their 
revolvers,  without  a  rest,  at  twenty -five  cents  a  shot.    While 


8         Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

several  members  of  our  party  were  blazing  away  with  indif- 
ferent success,  with  the  result  that  Jake  was  adding  to  his 
exchequer  without  damage  to  his  hat,  I  could  not  resist  the 
inclination  to  quietly  drop  out  of  sight  behind  a  clump  of 
bushes,  where  from  my  place  of  concealment  I  sent  from 
my  breech-loading  Ballard  repeating  rifle  four  bullets  in 
rapid  succession,  through  the  hat,  badly  riddling  it.  Jake 
inquired,  "Whose  revolver  is  it  that  makes  that  loud  re- 
port?" He  did  not  discover  the  true  state  of  the  case,  but 
removed  the  target  with  the  ready  acknowledgment  that 
there  were  members  of  our  party  whose  aim  with  a  revolver 
was  more  accurate  than  he  had  thought.  I  think  that  I  will 
make  confession  to  him  in  a  few  days.  I  now  wish  that  I 
had  brought  with  me  an  extra  hat.  My  own  is  not  large 
enough  for  Jake's  head.  Notwithstanding  the  serious  prob- 
lems which  we  must  deal  with  in  making  this  journey,  it  is 
well  to  have  a  little  amusement  while  we  may. 

Tuesday,  August  23. — Last  night  was  the  first  that  we 
were  on  guard.  The  first  relief  was  Hedges  and  Langford, 
the  second  Washburn  and  Hauser.  Everything  went  well. 
At  8  a.  m.  to-day  we  broke  camp.  Some  delay  occurring  in 
packing  our  horses.  Lieutenant  Doane  and  the  escort  went 
ahead,  and  we  did  not  again  see  them  until  we  reached  our 
night  camp. 

We  traveled  down  Trail  creek  and  over  a  spur  of  the  moun- 
tain to  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone,  which  we  followed  up 
eight  miles  to  our  present  camp.  Along  on  our  right  in  pass- 
ing up  the  valley  was  a  vast  natural  pile  of  basaltic  rock, 
perpendicular,  a  part  of  which  had  been  overthrown,  show- 
ing transverse  seams  in  the  rock.  Away  at  the  right  in  the 
highest  range  bordering  the  valley  was  Pyramid  mountain, 
itself  a  snow-capped  peak;  and  further  up  the  range  was 
a  long  ridge  covered  with  deep  snow.  As  we  passed  Pyra- 
mid mountain  a  cloud  descended  upon  it,  casting  its  gloomy 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.         9 

shadow  over  the  adjacent  peaks  and  bursting  in  a  grand 
storm.  These  magnificent  changes  in  mountain  scenery  oc- 
casioned by  light  and  shade  during  one  of  these  terrific  tem- 
pests, with  all  the  incidental  accompaniments  of  thunder, 
lightning,  rain,  snow  and  hail,  afford  the  most  awe-inspir- 
ing exhibition  in  nature.  As  I  write,  another  grand  storm, 
which  does  not  extend  to  our  camp,  has  broken  out  on  Emi- 
grant peak,  which  at  one  moment  is  completely  obscured  in 
darkness ;  at  the  next,  perhaps,  brilliant  with  light ;  all  its 
gorges,  recesses,  seams  and  canons  illuminated;  these  fade 
away  into  dim  twilight,  broken  by  a  terrific  flash,  and,  echo- 
ing to  successive  peals, 

u*     *     *     ^Yie  rattling  crags  among 

Leaps  the  live  thunder''  in  innumerable  reverberations. 

On  the  left  of  the  valley  the  foot  hills  were  mottled  with 
a  carpet  of  beautiful,  maroon-colored,  delicately-tinted  ver- 
dure, and  towering  above  all  rose  peak  on  peak  of  the  snow- 
capped mountains. 

To-day  we  saw  our  first  Indians  as  we  descended  into  the 
valley  of  the  Yellowstone.  They  came  down  from  the  east 
side  of  the  valley,  over  the  foot  hills,  to  the  edge  of  the  pla- 
teau overlooking  the  bottom  lands  of  the  river,  and  there 
•conspicuously  displayed  themselves  for  a  time  to  engage  our 
attention.  As  we  passed  by  them  up  the  valley  they  moved 
down  to  where  their  ponies  were  hobbled.  Two  of  our 
party,  Hauser  and  Stickney,  had  dropped  behind  and  passed 
towards  the  north  to  get  a  shot  at  an  antelope;  and  when 
they  came  up  they  reported  that,  while  we  were  observing 
the  Indians  on  the  plateau  across  the  river,  there  were  one 
hundred  or  more  of  them  watching  us  from  behind  a  high 
butte  as  our  pack-train  passed  up  the  valley.  As  soon  as 
they  observed  Hauser  and  Stickney  coming  up  nearly  be- 
hind them,  they  wheeled  their  horses  and  disappeared  down 


10        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

the  other  side  of  the  butte.*  This  early  admonition  of  our 
exposure  to  hostile  attack,  and  liability  to  be  robbed  of 
everything,  and  compelled  on  foot  and  without  provisions 
to  retrace  our  steps,  has  been  the  subject  of  discussion  in 
our  camp  to-night,  and  has  renewed  in  our  party  the  deter- 


ON  GUARD. 

Valley  of  the  Yellowstone. 

mination  to  abate  nothing  of  our  vigilance,  and  keep  in  a 
condition  of  constant  preparation. 

With  our  long-range  rifles  and  plenty  of  ammunition,  we 
can  stand  off  200  or  300  of  them,  with  their  less  efficient 
weapons,  if  we  don't  let  them  sneak  up  upon  us  in  the  night. 
If  we  encounter  more  than  that  number,  then  what?  The 
odds  will  be  against  us  that  they  will  "rub  us  out,"  as  Jim 
Stuart  says. 


*0n   August   23d   General   Washburn   wrote:      "Indians    of   the 
Crow  tribe." 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.        11 

Jake  Smith  has  sent  the  first  demoralizing  shot  into  the 
camp  by  announcing  that  he  doesn't  think  there  is  any  neces- 
sity for  standing  guard.  Jake  is  the  only  one  of  our  party 
who  shows  some  sign  of  baldness,  and  he  probably  thinks 
that  his  own  scalp  is  not  worth  the  taking  by  the  Indians. 

Did  we  act  wisely  in  permitting  him  to  join  our  party  at 
the  last  moment  before  leaving  Helena?  One  careless  man, 
no  less  than  one  who  is  easily  discouraged  by  difficulties, 
will  frequently  demoralize  an  entire  company.  I  think  we 
have  now  taken  all  possible  precautions  for  our  safety,  but 
our  numbers  are  few;  and  for  me  to  say  that  I  am  not  in 
hourly  dread  of  the  Indians  when  they  appear  in  large  force, 
would  be  a  braggart  boast. 

Mr.  Everts  was  taken  sick  this  afternoon.  All  day  we 
have  had  a  cool  breeze  and  a  few  light  showers,  clearing  off 
from  time  to  time,  revealing  the  mountains  opposite  U3  cov- 
ered from  their  summits  half  way  down  with  the  newly 
fallen  snow,  and  light  clouds  floating  just  below  over  the 
foot  hills.  Until  we  reached  the  open  valley  of  the  Yellow- 
stone our  route  was  over  a  narrow  trail,  from  which  the 
stream.  Trail  creek,  takes  its  name.  The  mountains  oppo- 
site the  point  where  we  entered  the  valley  are  rugged,  grand, 
picturesque  and  immense  by  turns,  and  colored  by  nature 
with  a  thousand  gorgeous  hues.  We  have  traveled  all  this 
day  amid  this  stupendous  variety  of  landscape  until  we  have 
at  length  reached  the  western  shore  of  that  vast  and  soli- 
tary river  which  is  to  guide  us  to  the  theatre  of  our  explora- 
tions. From  the  "la}^  of  the  land"  I  should  judge  that  our 
camp  to-night  is  thirty-five  to  forty  miles  above  the  point 
where  Captain  William  Clark,  of  the  famous  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition,  embarked  with  his  party  in  July,  1806,  in 
two  Cottonwood  canoes  bound  together  with  buffalo  thongs, 
on  his  return  to  the  states.     It  was  from  that  point  also 


12       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

that  some  six  hundred  residents  of  Montana  embarked  for 
a  trip  to  the  states,  in  forty-two  flat  boats,  in  the  autumn 
of  1865.*  We  learn  from  Mr.  Boteler  that  there  are  some 
twenty-five  lodges  of  Crow  Indians  up  the  valley.* 

Wednesday,  August  24. — It  rained  nearly  all  of  last  night, 
but  Lieutenant  Doane  pitched  his  large  tent,  which  was 
sufficiently  capacious  to  accommodate  us  all  by  lying  "heads 
and  tails,"  and  we  were  very  comfortable.  Throughout  the 
forenoon  we  had  occasional  showers,  but  about  noon  it 
cleared  away,  and,  after  getting  a  lunch,  we  got  under  way. 
During  the  forenoon  some  of  the  escort  were  very  success- 
ful in  fishing  for  trout.  Mr.  Everts  was  not  well  enough  to 
accompan^^  us,  and  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  remain 
at  Boteler's  ranch,  and  that  we  would  move  about  twelve 
miles  up  the  river,  and  there  await  his  arrival.  Our  prepa- 
rations for  departure  being  completed.  General  Washburn 
detailed  a  guard  of  four  men  to  accompany  the  pack  train, 
while  the  rest  of  the  party  rode  on  ahead.  We  broke  camp 
at  2 :30  p.  m.  with  the  pack  train  and  moved  up  the  valley. 
At  about  six  miles  from  our  camp  we  crossed  a  spur  of  the 
mountain  which  came  down  boldly  to  the  river,  and  from 
the  top  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of  the  valley  stretched  out 
below  us,  the  stream  fringed  with  a  thin  bordering  of  trees, 
the  foot  hills  rising  into  a  level  plateau  covered  with  rich 
bunch  grass,  and  towering  above  all,  the  snow-covered  sum- 
mits of  the  distant  mountains  rising  majestically,  seem- 
ingly just  out  of  the  plateau,  though  they  were  many  miles 


♦Near  where  Livingston  is  now  located. 


♦Lieutenant  Doane  in  his  report  to  the  War  Department  under 
date  of  August  24th  writes:  "Guards  were  established  here  during 
the  night,  as  there  were  signs  of  a  party  of  Indians  on  the  trail 
ahead  of  us,  all  the  members  of  the  party  taking  their  tours  of  this 
duty,  and  using  in  addition  the  various  precautions  of  lariats,  hob- 
bles, etc.,  not  to  be  neglected  while  traveling  through  this  country." 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        13 

away.  Above  us  the  valley  opened  out  wide,  and  from  the 
overlooking  rock  on  which  we  stood  we  could  see  the  long 
train  of  pack  horses  winding  their  way  along  the  narrow 
trail,  the  whole  presenting  a  picturesque  scene.  The  rock 
on  which  we  stood  was  a  coarse  conglomerate,  or  pudding 
stone. 

Five  miles  farther  on  we  crossed  a  small  stream  bordered 
with  black  cherry  trees,  many  of  the  smaller  ones  broken 
down  by  bears,  of  which  animal  we  found  many  signs.  One 
mile  farther  on  we  made  our  camp  about  a  mile  below  the 
middle  canon.  To-night  we  have  antelope,  rabbit,  duck, 
grouse  and  the  finest  of  large  trout  for  supper.  As  I  write. 
General  Washburn,  Hedges  and  Hauser  are  engaged  in  an 
animated  discussion  of  the  differences  between  France  and 
Germany,  and  the  probabilities  of  the  outcome  of  the  war. 
The  three  gentlemen  are  not  agreed  in  determining  where 
the  responsibility  for  the  trouble  lies,  and  I  fear  that  I  will 
have  to  check  their  profanity.  However,  neither  Washburn 
nor  Hedges  swears. 

Thursday,  August  25. — Last  night  was  very  cold,  the  ther- 
mometer marking  40  degrees  at  8  o'clock  a.  m.  At  one  mile 
of  travel  we  came  to  the  middle  canon,  which  we  passed  on 
a  very  narrow  trail  running  over  a  high  spur  of  the  moun- 
tain overlooking  the  river,  which  at  this  point  is  forced 
through  a  narrow  gorge,  surging  and  boiling  and  tumbling 
over  the  rocks,  the  water  having  a  dark  green  color.  After 
passing  the  canon  we  again  left  the  valley,  passing  over  the 
mountain,  on  the  top  of  which  at  an  elevation  of  several 
hundred  feet  above  the  river  is  a  beautiful  lake.  Descend- 
ing the  mountain  again,  we  entered  the  valley,  which  here 
is  about  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  wide.  At  nineteen 
miles  from  our  morning  camp  we  came  to  Gardiner's  river, 
at  the  mouth  of  which  we  camped.  We  are  near  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  Montana,  and  still  in  the  limestone  and 


14       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

granite  formations.  Mr.  Everts  came  into  camp  just  at 
night,  nearly  recovered,  but  very  tired  from  his  long  and 
tedious  ride  over  a  rugged  road,  making  our  two  days'  travel 
in  one.  We  passed  to-day  a  singular  formation  which  we 
named  "The  DeviPs  Slide."  From  the  top  of  the  mountain 
to  the  valley,  a  distance  of  about  800  feet,  the  trap  rock 
projected  from  75  to  125  feet,  the  intermediate  layers  of 
friable  rock  having  been  washed  out.  The  trap  formation 
is  about  twenty-five  feet  wide,  and  covered  with  stunted 
pine  trees.  Opposite  our  camp  is  a  high  drift  formation 
of  granite  boulders,  gravel  and  clay.  The  boulders  are  the 
regular  gray  Quincy  granite,  and  those  in  the  middle  of  the 
river  are  hollowed  out  by  the  action  of  the  water  into  many 
curious  shapes.  We  have  here  found  our  first  specimens  of 
petrifactions  and  obsidian,  or  volcanic  glass.  From  the  top 
of  the  mountain  back  of  our  camp  we  can  see  to-night  a 
smoke  rising  from  another  peak,  which  some  of  our  party 
think  is  a  signal  from  one  band  of  the  Indians  to  another, 
conveying  intelligence  of  our  progress.  Along  our  trail  of 
to-day  are  plenty  of  Indian  "signs,"  and  marks  of  the  lodge 
poles  dragging  in  the  sand  on  either  side  of  the  trail.* 

Jake  Smith  stood  guard  last  night,  or  ought  to  have 
done  so,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  Gillette  was  also  on  guard, 
I  should  not  have  had  an  undisturbed  sleep.  We  know 
that  the  Indians  are  near  us,  and  sleep  is  more  refreshing 
to  me  when  I  feel  assured  that  I  will  not  be  joined  in  my 
slumbers  by  those  who  are  assigned  for  watchful  guard 
duty. 


♦Under  date  of  August  25th  Lieutenant  Doane  writes:  "From 
this  camp  was  seen  the  smoke  of  fires  on  the  mountains  in  front, 
while  Indian  signs  became  more  numerous  and  distinct."  Under 
date  of  August  25th  General  Washburn  wrote  in  his  diary:  "Have 
been  following  Indian  trails,  fresh  ones,  all  the  way.  They  are 
about  two  days  ahead  of  us." 


i^UtM^r^ 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        15 

Friday,  August  26. — For  some  reason  we  did  not  leave 
camp  till  11  o'clock  a.  m.  We  forded  Gardiner's  river  with 
some  difficulty,  several  of  our  pack  animals  being  nearly 
carried  off  their  feet  by  the  torrent.  We  passed  over  sev- 
eral rocky  ridges  or  points  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tain, and  at  one  and  a  half  miles  came  down  again  into  the 
valley,  which  one  of  our  party  called  the  ^'Valley  of  desola- 
tion.'^ Taking  the  trail  upon  the  left,  we  followed  it  until 
it  led  us  to  the  mouth  of  a  canon,  through  which  ran  an  old 
Indian  or  game  trail,  which  was  hardly  discernible,  and  had 
evidently  been  long  abandoned.  Ketracing  our  steps  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  taking  a  cut-off  through  the  sage 
brush,  we  followed  another  trail  upon  our  right  up  through 
a  steep,  dry  coulee.  From  the  head  of  the  coulee  we  went 
through  fallen  timber  over  a  burnt  and  rocky  road,  our 
progress  being  very  slow.  A  great  many  of  the  packs  came 
off  our  horses  or  became  loosened,  necessitating  frequent 
baitings  for  their  readjustment.  Upon  the  summit  we 
found  a  great  many  shells.  Descending  the  divide  we  found 
upon  the  trail  the  carcass  of  an  antelope  which  the  advance 
party  had  killed,  and  which  we  packed  on  our  horses  and 
carried  to  our  night  camp.  In  the  morning  Lieutenant 
Doane  and  one  of  his  men,  together  with  Mr.  Everts,  had 
started  out  ahead  of  the  party  to  search  out  the  best  trail. 
At  3  o'clock  p.  m.  we  arrived  at  Antelope  creek,  only  six 
miles  from  our  morning  camp,  where  we  concluded  to  halt. 
On  the  trail  which  we  were  following  there  were  no  tracks 
except  those  of  unshod  ponies;  and,  as  our  horses  were  all 
shod,  it  was  evident  that  Lieutenant  Doane  and  the  advance 
party  had  descended  the  mountain  by  some  other  trail  than 
that  which  we  were  following.  Neither  were  there  any  marks 
of  dragging  lodge  poles.  There  are  seemingly  two  trails 
across  the  mountain, — a  circuitous  one  by  as  easy  a  grade 
as  can  be  found,  over  which  the  Indians  send  their  families 


16        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

with  their  heavily  laden  pack  horses;  and  a  more  direct, 
though  more  difficult,  route  which  the  war  parties  use  in 
making  their  rapid  rides.  This  last  is  the  one  we  have 
taken,  and  the  advance  party  has  doubtless  taken  the  other. 

Our  camp  to-night  is  on  Antelope  creek,  about  five  miles 
from  the  Yellowstone  river.  After  our  arrival  in  camp,  in 
company  with  Stickney  and  Gillette,  I  made  a  scout  of  eight 
or  ten  miles  through  the  country  east  of  our  trail,  and  be- 
tween it  and  the  river,  in  search  of  some  sign  of  Lieutenant 
Doane,  but  we  found  no  trace  of  him.  Parting  from  Stick- 
ney  and  Gillette,  I  followed  down  the  stream  through  a  nar- 
row gorge  by  a  game  trail,  hoping  if  I  could  reach  the  Yel- 
lowstone, to  find  a  good  trail  along  its  banks  up  to  the  foot 
of  the  Grand  canon;  but  I  found  the  route  impracticable 
for  the  passage  of  our  pack  train.  After  supper  Mr.  Hau- 
ser  and  I  went  out  in  search  of  our  other  party,  and  found 
the  tracks  of  their  horses,  which  we  followed  about  four 
miles  to  the  brow  of  a  mountain  overlooking  the  country 
for  miles  in  advance  of  us.  Here  we  remained  an  hour, 
firing  our  guns  as  a  signal,  and  carefully  scanning  the  whole 
country  with  our  field  glasses.  We  could  discern  the  trail 
for  many  miles  on  its  tortuous  course,  but  could  see  no  sign 
of  a  camp,  or  of  horses  feeding,  and  we  returned  to  our 
camp. 

Saturday,  August  27. — Lieutenant  Doane  and  those  who 
were  with  him  did  not  return  to  camp  last  night.  At  change 
of  guard  Gillette's  pack  horse  became  alarmed  at  something 
in  the  bushes  bordering  upon  the  creek  on  the  bank  of  which 
he  was  tied,  and,  breaking  loose,  dashed  through  the  camp, 
rousing  all  of  us.  Some  wild  animal — snake,  fox  or  some- 
thing of  the  kind — was  probably  the  cause  of  the  alarm.  In 
its  flight  I  became  entangled  in  the  lariat  and  was  dragged 
head  first  for  three  or  four  rods,  my  head  striking  a  log, 
which  proved  to  be  very  rotten,  and  offered  little  resistance 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       17 

to  a  hard  head,  and  did  me  very  little  damage.  Towards 
morning  a  slight  shower  of  rain  fell,  continuing  at  inter- 
vals till  8  o'clock.  We  left  camp  about  9  o'clock,  the  pack 
train  following  about  11  o'clock,  and  soon  struck  the  trail 
of  Lieutenant  Doane,  which  proved  to  be  the  route  trav- 
eled by  the  Indians.  The  marks  of  their  lodge  poles  were 
plainly  visible.  At  about  four  miles  from  our  morning 
camp  we  discovered  at  some  distance  ahead  of  us  what  first 
appeared  to  be  a  young  elk,  but  which  proved  to  be  a  colt 
that  had  become  separated  from  the  camp  of  Indians  to 
which  it  belonged.  We  think  the  Indians  cannot  be  far 
from  us  at  this  time.  Following  the  trail  up  the  ascent 
leading  from  Antelope  creek,  we  entered  a  deep  cut,  the 
sides  of  which  rise  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  and  are  covered 
with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  Through  this  cut  we 
ascended  by  a  grade  entirely  practicable  for  a  wagon  road 
to  the  summit  of  the  divide  separating  the  waters  of  Ante- 
lope creek  from  those  of  * creek,  and  from  the  sum- 
mit descended  through  a  beautiful  gorge  to  a  small  tribu- 
tary of  the  Yellowstone,  a  distance  of  two  miles,  dismount- 
ing and  leading  our  horses  almost  the  entire  distance,  the 
descent  being  too  precipitous  for  the  rider's  comfort  or  for 

ease  to  the  horse.     We  were  now  within  four  miles  of  * 

creek,  and  within  two  miles  of  the  Yellowstone.  On  the 
right  of  the  trail,  two  miles  farther  on,  we  found  a  small 
hot  sulphur  spring,  the  water  of  which  was  at  a  temperature 
a  little  below  the  boiling  point,  which  at  this  elevation  is 
about  195  degrees.  Ascending  a  high  ridge  we  had  a  com- 
manding view  of  a  basaltic  formation  of  palisades,  about 


♦These  blanks  were  left  in  my  diary  with  the  intention  of  filling 
them,  upon  the  selection  by  our  party  of  a  name  for  the  creek; 
but  after  going  into  camp  at  Tower  fall,  the  matter  of  selecting  a 
name  was  forgotten.  A  few  years  later  the  stream  was  named 
Lost  creek. 


18        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

thirty  feet  in  height,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, overlooking  a  stratum  of  cement  and  gravel  nearly 
two  hundred  feet  thick,  beneath  which  is  another  formation 
of  the  basaltic  rock,  and  beneath  this  another  body  of  ce- 
ment and  gravel.  We  named  this  formation  ^'Column 
Rock."  The  upper  formation, from  which  the  rock  takes  its 
name,  consists  of  basaltic  columns  about  thirty  feet  high, 
closely  touching  each  other,  the  columns  being  from  three 
to  five  feet  in  diameter.  A  little  farther  on  we  descended 
the  sides  of  the  canon,  through  which  runs  a  large  creek. 
We  crossed  this  creek  and  camped  on  the  south  side.  Our 
camp  is  about  four  hundred  feet  in  elevation  above  the  Yel- 
lowstone, which  is  not  more  than  two  miles  distant.  The 
creek  is  full  of  granite  boulders,  varying  in  size  from  six 
inches  to  ten  feet  in  diameter. 

General  Washburn  was  on  guard  last  night,  and  to-night 
he  seems  somewhat  fatigued.  Mr.  Hedges  has  improvised  a 
writing  stool  from  a  sack  of  flour,  and  I  have  appropriated 
a  sack  of  beans  for  a  like  use;  and,  as  we  have  been  writ- 
ing, there  has  been  a;  lively  game  of  cards  pla^^ed  near  my 
left  side,  which  Hedges,  who  has  just  closed  his  diary,  says 
is  a  game  of  poker.  1  doubt  if  Deacon  Hedges  is  sufficiently 
posted  in  the  game  to  know  to  a  certainty  that  poker  is  the 
game  which  is  being  played ;  but,  putting  what  Hedges  tells 
me  with  what  I  see  and  hear,  I  find  that  these  infatuated 
players  have  put  a  valuation  of  five  (5)  cents  per  bean,  on 
beans  that  did  not  cost  more  than  |1  a  quart  in  Helena,  and 
Jake  Smith  exhibits  a  marvelous  lack  of  veneration  for  his 
kinswoman,  by  referring  to  each  bean,  as  he  places  it  before 
him  upon  the  table,  as  his  "aunt,"  or,  more  flippantly,  his 
"auntie."  Walter  Trumbull  has  been  styled  the  "Banker," 
and  he  says  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  game  he  sold 
forty  of  these  beans  to  each  of  the  players,  himself  included 
(200  in  all),  at  five  (5)  cents  each,  and  that  he  has  already 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        19 

redeemed  the  entire  200  at  that  rate ;  and  now  Jake  Smith 
has  a  half-pint  cup  nearly  full  of  beans,  and  is  demanding 
of  Trumbull  that  he  redeem  them  also;  that  is,  pay  five  (5) 
cents  per  bean  for  the  contents  of  the  cup.  Trumbull  ob- 
jects. Jake  persists.  Keflecting  upon  their  disagreement  I 
recall  that  about  an  hour  ago  Jake,  with  an  apologetic  "Ex- 
cuse me !''  disturbed  me  while  I  was  writing  and  untied  the 
bean  sack  on  which  I  am  now  sitting,  and  took  from  it  a 
double  handful  of  beans. 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  game  of  cards  which  admits  of  such 
latitude  as  this,  with  a  practically  unlimited  draft  upon 
outside  resources,  is  hardly  fair  to  all  parties,  and  espe- 
cially to  "The  Banker." 

Sunday,  August  28. — To-day  being  Sunday,  we  remained 
all  day  in  our  camp,  which  Washburn  and  Everts  have 
named  "Camp  Comfort,"  as  we  have  an  abundance  of  veni- 
son and  trout. 

We  visited  the  falls  of  the  creek,  the  waters  of  which 
tumble  over  the  rocks  and  boulders  for  the  distance  of  200 
yards  from  our  camp,  and  then  fall  a  distance  of  110  feet, 
as  triangulated  by  Mr.  Hauser.  Stickney  ventured  to  the 
verge  of  the  fall,  and,  with  a  stone  attached  to  a  strong 
cord,  measured  its  height,  which  he  gives  as  105  feet. 

The  stream,  in  its  descent  to  the  brink  of  the  fall,  is  sepa- 
rated into  half  a  dozen  distorted  channels  which  have  zig- 
zagged their  passage  through  the  cement  formation,  work- 
ing it  into  spires,  pinnacles,  towers  and  many  other  capri- 
cious objects.  Many  of  these  are  of  faultless  symmetry, 
resembling  the  minaret  of  a  mosque;  others  are  so  gro- 
tesque as  to  provoke  merriment  as  well  as  wonder.  One  of 
this  latter  character  we  named  "The  Devil's  Hoof,"  from  its 
supposed  similarity  to  the  proverbial  foot  of  his  Satanic 
majesty.  The  height  of  this  rock  from  its  base  is  about 
fifty  feet. 


20       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

The  friable  rock  forming  the  spires  and  towers  and  pin- 
nacles crumbles  away  under  a  slight  pressure.  I  climbed 
one  of  these  tall  spires  on  the  brink  of  the  chasm  overlook- 
ing the  fall,  and  from  the  top  had  a  beautiful  view,  though 
it  was  one  not  unmixed  with  terror.  Directly  beneath  my 
feet,  but  probably  about  one  hundred  feet  below  me,  was 


DEVIL'S  HOOF. 

the  verge  of  the  fall,  and  still  below  that  the  deep  gorge 
through  which  the  creek  went  bounding  and  roaring  over 
the  boulders  to  its  union  with  the  Yellowstone.  The  scenery 
here  cannot  be  called  grand  or  magnificent,  but  it  is  most 
beautiful  and  picturesque.  The  spires  are  from  75  to  100 
feet  in  height.     The  volume  of  water  is  about  six  or  eight 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.       21 

times  that  of  Minnehaha  fall,  and  I  think  that  a  month 
ago,  while  the  snows  were  still  melting,  the  creek  could  not 
easily  have  been  forded.  The  route  to  the  foot  of  the  fall 
is  by  a  well  worn  Indian  trail  running  to  the  mouth  of  the 
creek  over  boulders  and  fallen  pines,  and  through  thickets 
of  raspberry  bushes. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  creek  on  the  Yellowstone  is  a  hot 
sulphur  spring,  the  odor  from  which  is  perceptible  in  our 
camp  to-day.  At  the  base  of  the  fall  we  found  a  large  petri- 
faction of  wood  imbedded  in  the  debris  of  the  falling  cement 
and  slate  rock.  There  are  several  sulphur  springs  at  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  three  of  them  boiling,  others  nearly  as 
hot  as  boiling  water.  There  is  also  a  milky  white  sulphur 
spring.  Within  one  yard  of  a  spring,  the  temperature  of 
which  is  little  below  the  boiling  point,  is  a  sulphur  spring 
with  water  nearly  as  cold  as  ice  water,  or  not  more  than 
ten  degrees  removed  from  it. 

I  went  around  and  almost  under  the  fall,  or  as  far  as  the 
rocks  gave  a  foot-hold,  the  rising  spray  thoroughly  wetting 
and  nearly  blinding  me.  Some  two  hundred  yards  below 
the  fall  is  a  huge  granite  boulder  about  thirty  feet  in  diam- 
eter.    Where  did  it  come  from? 

In  camp  to-day  several  names  were  proposed  for  the  creek 
and  fall,  and  after  much  discussion  the  name  ^'Minaret" 
was  selected.  Later,  this  evening,  this  decision  has  been  re- 
considered, and  we  have  decided  to  substitute  the  name 
"Tower''  for  "Minaret,"  and  call  it  "Tower  Fall."* 


*In  making  a  copy  of  my  original  diary,  it  is  proper  at  this  point 
to  interpolate  an  account  of  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
name  "Tower"  was  bestowed  upon  the  creek  and  fall. 

At  the  outset  of  our  journey  we  had  agreed  that  we  would  not 
give  to  any  object  of  interest  which  we  might  discover  the  name 
of  any  of  our  party  nor  of  our  friends.  This  rule  was  to  be  relig- 
iously observed.  While  in  camp  on  Sunday,  August  28th,  on  the 
bank  of  this  creek,  it  was  suggested  that  we  select  a  name  for  the 
creek  and  fall.     Walter  Trumbull  suggested  "Minaret  Creek"  and 


22        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

General  Washburn  rode  out  to  make  a  reconnaissance  for 
a  route  to  the  river,  and  returned  about  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  with  the  intelligence  that  from  the  summit  of  a 
high  mountain  he  had  seen  Yellowstone  lake,  the  proposed 
object  of  our  visit;  and  with  his  compass  he  had  noted  its 
direction  from  our  camp.  This  intelligence  has  greatly  re- 
lieved our  anxiety  concerning  the  course  we  are  to  pursue, 
and  has  quieted  the  dread  apprehensions  of  some  of  our 
number,  lest  we  become  inextricably  involved  in  the  wooded 
labyrinth  by  which  we  are  surrounded;  and  in  violation  of 
our  agreement  that  we  would  not  give  the  name  of  any 
member  of  our  party  to  any  object  of  interest,  we  have  spon- 
taneously and  by  unanimous  vote  given  the  mountain  the 
name  by  which  it  will  hereafter  and  forever  be  known, 
"Mount  Washburn." 

In  addition  to  our  saddle  horses  and  pack  horses,  we  have 
another  four-footed  animal  in  our  outfit — a  large  black  dog 
of  seeming  little  intelligence,  to  w^hich  we  have  given  the 


"Minaret  Fall."  Mr.  Hauser  suggested  "Tower  Creek"  and  "Tower 
Fall."  After  some  discussion  a  vote  was  taken,  and  by  a  small 
majority  the  name  "Minaret"  was  decided  upon.  During  the  fol- 
lowing evening  Mr.  Hauser  stated  with  great  seriousness  that  we 
had  violated  the  agreement  made  relative  to  naming  objects  for  our 
friends.  He  said  that  the  well  known  Southern  family — the 
Rhetts — lived  in  St.  Louis,  and  that  they  had  a  most  charming  and 
accomplished  daughter  named  "Minnie."  He  said  that  this  daugh- 
ter was  a  sweetheart  of  Trumbull,  who  had  proposed  the  name — 
her  name — "Minnie  Rhett" — and  that  we  had  unwittingly  given  to 
the  fall  and  creek  the  name  of  this  sweetheart  of  Mr.  Trumbull. 
Mr.  Trumbull  indignantly  denied  the  truth  of  Hauser's  statement, 
and  Hauser  as  determinedly  insisted  that  it  was  the  truth,  and 
the  vote  was  therefore  reconsidered,  and  by  a  substantial  majority 
it  was  decided  to  substitute  the  name  "Tower"  for  "Minaret." 
Later,  and  when  it  was  too  late  to  recall  or  reverse  the  action  of 
our  party,  it  was  surmised  that  Hauser  himself  had  a  sweetheart 
in  St.  Louis,  a  Miss  Tower.  Some  of  our  party,  Walter  Trumbull 
especially,  always  insisted  that  such  was  the  case.  The  weight  of 
testimony  was  so  evenly  balanced  that  I  shall  hesitate  long  before 
I  believe  either  side  of  this  part  of  the  story. 

N.  P.  Langford. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       23 

name  of  "Booby."  He  is  owned  by  "Nute,"  one  of  our  col- 
ored boys,  who  avers  that  he  is  a  very  knowing  dog,  and 
will  prove  himself  so  before  our  journey  is  ended.  The 
poor  beast  is  becoming  sore- footed,  and  his  sufferings  excite 
our  sympathy,  and  we  are  trying  to  devise  some  kind  of 
shoe  or  moccasin  for  him.  The  rest  to-day  in  camp  will 
benefit  him.  Lieutenant  Doane  is  suffering  greatly  with  a 
felon  on  his  thumb.  It  ought  to  be  opened,  but  he  is  un- 
willing to  submit  to  a  thorough  operation.  His  sufferings 
kept  him  awake  nearly  all  of  last  night. 

Monday,  August  29. — We  broke  camp  about  8  o^clock, 
leaving  the  trail,  which  runs  down  to  the  mouth  of  the 
creek,  and  passed  over  a  succession  of  high  ridges,  and  part 
of  the  time  through  fallen  timber.  The  trail  of  the  Indians 
leads  off  to  the  left,  to  the  brink  of  the  Yellowstone,  which 
it  follows  up  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  and  then  crosses 
to  the  east  side.  Hauser,  Gillette,  Stickney,  Trumbull  and 
myself  rode  out  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Washburn,  which 
is  probably  the  highest  peak  on  the  west  side  of  the  river. 
Having  an  aneroid  barometer  with  us,  we  ascertained  the 
elevation  of  the  mountain  to  be  about  9,800  feet.  The  sum- 
mit is  about  500  feet  above  the  snow  line. 

Descending  the  mountain  on  the  southwest  side,  we  came 
upon  the  trail  of  the  pack  train,  which  we  followed  to  our 
camp  at  the  head  of  a  small  stream  running  into  the  Yel- 
lowstone, which  is  about  five  miles  distant.  As  we  came 
into  camp  a  black  bear  kindly  vacated  the  premises.  After 
supper  some  of  our  party  followed  down  the  creek  to  its 
mouth.  At  about  one  mile  below  our  camp  the  creek  runs 
through  a  bed  of  volcanic  ashes,  which  extends  for  a  hun- 
dred yards  on  either  side.  Toiling  on  our  course  down  this 
creek  to  the  river  we  came  suddenly  upon  a  basin  of  boiling 
sulphur  springs,  exhibiting  signs  of  activity  and  points  of 
difference  so  wonderful  as  to  fully  absorb  our  curiosity. 


24       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

The  largest  of  these,  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  is  boil- 
ing like  a  cauldron,  throwing  water  and  fearful  volumes  of 
sulphurous  vapor  higher  than  our  heads.  Its  color  is  a  dis- 
agreeable greenish  yellow.  The  central  spring  of  the  group, 
of  dark  leaden  hue,  is  in  the  most  violent  agitation,  its  con- 
vulsive spasms  frequently  projecting  large  masses  of  water 
to  the  height  of  seven  or  eight  feet.  The  spring  lying  to  the 
east  of  this,  more  diabolical  in  appearance,  filled  with  a  hot 
brownish  substance  of  the  consistency  of  mucilage,  is  in 
constant  noisy  ebullition,  emitting  fumes  of  villainous  odor. 
Its  surface  is  covered  with  bubbles,  which  are  constantly 
rising  and  bursting,  and  emitting  sulphurous  gases  from 
various  parts  of  its  surface.  Its  appearance  has  suggested 
the  name,  which  Hedges  has  given,  of  "Hell- Broth  springs;" 
for,  as  we  gazed  upon  the  infernal  mixture  and  inhaled  the 
pungent  sickening  vapors,  we  were  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  this  was  a  most  perfect  realization  of  Shakespeare's 
image  in  Macbeth.  It  needed  but  the  presence  of  Hecate 
and  her  weird  band  to  realize  that  horrible  creation  of 
poetic  fancy,  and  I  fancied  the  "black  and  midnight  hags" 
concocting  a  charm  around  this  horrible  cauldron.  We 
ventured  near  enough  to  this  spring  to  dip  the  end  of  a  pine 
pole  into  it,  which,  upon  removal,  was  covered  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  thick  with  lead-colored  sulphury  slime. 

There  are  five  large  springs  and  half  a  dozen  smaller  ones 
in  this  basin,  all  of  them  strongly  impregnated  with  sul 
phur,  alum  and  arsenic.  The  water  from  all  the  larger 
springs  is  dark  brown  or  nearly  black.  The  largest  spring 
is  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  water  boils 
up  like  a  cauldron  from  18  to  30  inches,  and  one  instinctive- 
ly draws  back  from  the  edge  as  the  hot  sulphur  steam 
rises  around  him.  Another  of  the  larger  springs  is  inter- 
mittent. The  smaller  springs  are  farther  up  on  the  bank 
than  the  larger  ones.     The  deposit  of  sinter  bordering  one 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       25 

of  them,  with  the  emission  of  steam  and  smoke  combined, 
gives  it  a  resemblance  to  a  chimney  of  a  miner's  cabin. 
Around  them  all  is  an  incrustation  formed  from  the  bases  of 
the  spring  deposits,  arsenic,  alum,  sulphur,  etc.  This  in- 
crustation is  sufficiently  strong  in  many  places  to  bear  the 
weight  of  a  man^  but  more  frequently  it  gave  way,  and  from 


SECURING  A  SPECIMEN 
AT  Hell-Broth  Springs. 

the  apertures  thus  created  hot  steam  issued,  showing  it  to 
be  dangerous  to  approach  the  edge  of  the  springs;  and  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  I  obtained  specimens  of 
the  incrustation.  This  I  finally  accomplished  by  lying  at 
full  length  upon  that  portion  of  the  incrustation  which 
yielded  the  least,  but  which  was  not  sufficiently  strong  to 
bear  my  weight  while  I  stood  upright,  and  at  imminent  risk 
of  sinking  in  the  infernal  mixture,  1  rolled  over  and  over  to 


26        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

the  edge  of  tlie  opening ;  and,  with  the  crust  slowly  bending 
and  sinking  beneath  me,  hurriedly  secured  the  coveted 
prize  of  black  sulphur,  and  rolled  back  to  a  place  of  safety. 

From  the  springs  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek  we  followed 
along  the  bank,  the  bed  or  bottom  being  too  rough  and  pre- 
cipitous for  lis  to  travel  in  it,  the  total  fall  in  the  creek  for 
the  three  miles  being  about  fifteen  hundred  feet.  Standing 
upon  the  high  point  at  the  junction  of  the  creek  with  the 
Yellowstone,  one  first  gets  some  idea  of  the  depth  of  the 
canon  through  which  the  river  runs.  From  this  height  the 
sound  of  the  waters  of  the  Yellowstone,  tumbling  over  tre- 
mendous rocks  and  boulders,  could  not  be  heard.  Every- 
thing around  us — mountains,  valleys,  canon  and  trees, 
heights  and  depths — all  are  in  such  keeping  and  proportion 
that  all  our  estimates  of  distances  are  far  below  the  real 
truth.  To-day  we  passed  the  mouth  of  Hell-Roaring  river 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Yellowstone. 

It  was  again  Jake  Smith's  turn  for  guard  duty  last  night, 
but  this  morning  Jake's  countenance  wore  a  peculiar  ex- 
pression, which  indicated  that  he  possessed  some  knowledge 
not  shared  by  the  rest  of  the  party.  He  spoke  never  a  word, 
and  was  as  serene  as  a  Methodist  minister  behind  four  aces. 
My  interpretation  of  this  self-satisfied  serenity  is  that  his 
guard  duty  did  not  deprive  him  of  much  sleep.  When  it 
comes  to  considering  the  question  of  danger  in  this  Indian 
country,  Jake  thinks  that  he  knows  more  than  the  veteran 
Jim  Stuart,  whom  we  expected  to  join  us  on  this  trip,  and 
who  has  given  us  some  salutary  words  of  caution.  In  a 
matter  in  which  the  safety  of  our  whole  party  is  involved,  it 
is  unfortunate  that  there  are  no  "articles  of  war"  to  aid 
in  the  enforcement  of  discipline,  in  faithful  guard  duty. 

Tuesday,August  30. — We  broke  camp  about  9  o'clock  a.  m., 
traveling  in  a  southerly  direction  over  the  hills  adjoin- 
ing our  camp,  and  then  descended  the  ridge  in  a  southwest- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        27 

eriy  direction,  heading  off  several  ravines,  till  we  came  into 
a  small  valley;  thence  we  crossed  over  a  succession  of  ridges 
of  fallen  timber  to  a  creek,  where  we  halted  about  ten  miles 
from  our  morning  camp  and  about  a  mile  from  the  upper 
fall  of  the  Yellowstone.  Mr.  Hedges  gave  the  name  "Cas- 
cade creek"  to  this  stream. 

When  we  left  our  camp  this  morning  at  Hell-Broth 
springs,  1  remarked  to  Mr.  Hedges  and  General  Washburn 
that  the  wonders  of  which  we  were  in  pursuit  had  not  dis- 
appointed us  in  their  first  exhibitions,  and  that  I  was  en- 
couraged in  the  faith  that  greater  curiosities  lay  before  us. 
We  believed  that  the  great  cataracts  of  the  Yellowstona 
were  within  two  days',  or  at  most  three  days',  travel.  So 
when  we  reached  Cascade  creek,  on  which  we  are  now  en- 
camped, after  a  short  day  of  journeying,  it  was  with  much 
astonishment  as  well  as  delight  that  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  immediate  presence  of  the  falls.  Their  roar,  smothered 
by  the  vast  depth  of  the  canon  into  which  they  plunge, 
was  not  heard  until  they  were  before  us.  With  remark- 
able deliberation  we  unsaddled  and  lariated  our  horses,  and 
even  refreshed  ourselves  with  such  creature  comforts  as 
our  larder  readily  afforded,  before  we  deigned  a  survey  of 
these  great  wonders  of  nature.  On  our  walk  down  the 
creek  to  the  river,  struck  with  the  beauty  of  its  cascades, 
we  even  neglected  the  greater,  to  admire  the  lesser  won- 
ders. Rushing  with  great  celerity  through  a  deep  defile  of 
lava  and  obsidian,  worn  into  caverns  and  fissures,  the 
stream,  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  its  debouchure,  breaks 
into  a  continuous  cascade  of  remarkable  beauty,  consist- 
ing of  a  fall  of  five  feet,  succeeded  by  another  of  fifteen  into 
a  grotto  formed  by  proximate  rocks  imperfectly  arching  it, 
whence  from  a  crystal  pool  of  unfathomable  depth  at  their 
base,  it  lingers  as  if  half  reluctant  to  continue  its  course, 
or  as  if  to  renew  its  power,  and  then  glides  gracefully  over 


28       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

a  descending,  almost  perpendicular,  ledge,  veiling  the  rocks 
for  the  distance  of  eighty  feet.  Mr.  Hedges  gave  to  this 
succession  of  cascades  the  name  "Crystal  fall."  It  is  very 
beautiful;  but  the  broken  and  cavernous  gorge  through 
which  it  passes,  worn  into  a  thousand  fantastic  shapes, 
bearing  along  its  margin  the  tracks  of  grizzly  bears  and 
lesser  wild  animals,  scattered  throughout  with  huge  masses 
of  obsidian  and  other  volcanic  matter — the  whole  sug- 
gestive of  nothing  earthly  nor  heavenly — received  at  our 
hands,  and  not  inaptly  as  I  conceive,  the  name  of  "The 
Devil's  Den." 

I  presume  that  many  persons  will  question  the  taste 
evinced  by  our  company  in  the  selection  of  names  for  the 
various  objects  of  interest  we  have  thus  far  met  with;  but 
they  are  all  so  different  from  any  of  Nature's  works  that  we 
have  ever  seen  or  heard  of,  so  entirely  out  of  range  of  hu- 
man experience,  and  withal  so  full  of  exhibitions  which 
can  suggest  no  other  fancy  than  that  which  our  good 
grandmothers  have  painted  on  our  boyish  imaginations  as 
a  destined  future  abode,  that  we  are  likely,  almost  invol- 
untarily, to  pursue  the  system  with  which  we  have  com- 
menced, to  the  end  of  our  journej^  A  similar  imagination 
has  possessed  travelers  and  visitors  to  other  volcanic  re- 
gions. 

We  have  decided  to  remain  at  this  point  through  the  en- 
tire day  to-morrow,  and  examine  the  canon  and  falls. 
From  the  brief  survey  of  the  canon  I  was  enabled  to  make 
before  darkness  set  in,  I  am  impressed  with  its  awful 
grandeur,  and  I  realize  the  impossibility  of  giving  to  any 
one  who  has  not  seen  a  gorge  similar  in  character,  any 
idea  of  it. 

It  is  getting  late,  and  it  is  already  past  our  usual  bed- 
time, and  Jake  Smith  is  calling  to  me  to  ^'turn  in"  and 
give  him  a  chance  to  sleep.    There  is  in  what  I  have  already 


c^-^^^'-y^z^^^..^  ^^y^^c^gd^. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  ExrEDiTioN  of  1870.        29 

seen  so  much  of  novelty  to  fill  the  mind  and  burden  the 
memory,  that  unless  I  write  down  in  detail  the  events  of 
each  day,  and  indeed  almost  of  each  hour  as  it  passes,  I 
shall  not  be  able  to  prej^are  for  publication  on  my  return 
home  any  clear  or  satisfactory  account  of  these  wonders. 
So  Jake  may  go  to.  I  will  write  until  my  candle  burns 
out.  Jacob  is  indolent  and  fond  of  slumber,  and  I  think 
that  he  resents  my  remark  to  him  the  other  day,  that  he 
could  burn  more  and  gather  less  wood  than  any  man  I  ever 
camped  with.  He  has  dubbed  me  "The  Yellowstone  sharp." 
Good!  I  am  not  ashamed  to  have  the  title.  Lieutenant 
Doane  has  crawled  out  of  his  blankets,  and  is  just  outside 
the  tent  with  his  hand  and  fore-arm  immersed  in  water 
nearly  as  cold  as  ice.  I  am  afraid  that  lock-jaw  will  set  in 
if  he  does  not  consent  to  have  the  felon  lanced. 

Wednesday,  August  31. — This  has  been  a  "red-letter"  day 
with  me,  and  one  which  I  shall  not  soon  forget,  for  my  mind 
is  clogged  and  my  memory  confused  by  what  I  have  to-day 
seen.  General  Washburn  and  Mr.  Hedges  are  sitting  near 
me,  writing,  and  we  have  an  understanding  that  we  will 
compare  our  notes  when  finished.  We  are  all  overwhelmed 
with  astonishment  and  wonder  at  what  we  have  seen,  and 
we  feel  that  we  have  been  near  the  very  presence  of  the 
Almighty.  General  Washburn  has  just  quoted  from  the 
psalm: 

"When  I  behold  the  work  of  Thy  hands,  what  is  man 
that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him!" 

My  own  mind  is  so  confused  that  I  hardly  know  where  to 
commence  in  making  a  clear  record  of  what  is  at  this  mo- 
ment floating  past  my  mental  vision.  I  cannot  confine  my- 
self to  a  bare  description  of  the  falls  of  the  Yellowstone 
alone,  for  these  two  great  cataracts  are  but  one  feature  in 
a  scene  composed  of  so  many  of  the  elements  of  grandeur 


30        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

and  sublimity,  that  I  almost  despair  of  giving  to  those 
who  on  our  return  home  will  listen  to  a  recital  of  our  ad- 
ventures, the  faintest  conception  of  it.  The  immense 
canon  or  gorge  of  rocks  through  which  the  river  descends, 
perhaps  more  than  the  falls,  is  calculated  to  fill  the  ob- 
server with  feelings  of  mingled  awe  and  terror.  This 
chasm  is  seemingly  about  thirty  miles  in  length.  Commenc- 
ing above  the  upper  fall,  it  attains  a  depth  of  two  hundred 
feet  where  that  takes  its  plunge,  and  in  the  distance  of  half 
a  mile  from  that  point  to  the  verge  of  the  lower  fall,  it 
rapidly  descends  with  the  river  between  walls  of  rock  near- 
ly six  hundred  feet  in  vertical  height,  to  w^hich  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  are  added  by  the  fall.  Below  this 
the  wall  lines  marked  by  the  descent  of  the  river  grow  in 
height  with  incredible  distinctness,  until  they  are  probably 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  water.  There  is  a  difference 
of  nearly  three  thousand  feet  in  altitude  between  the  sur- 
face of  the  river  at  the  upper  fall  and  the  foot  of  the 
canon.  Opposite  Mount  Washburn  the  canon  must  be  more 
than  half  a  vertical  mile  in  depth.  As  it  is  impossible  to 
explore  the  entire  canon,  we  are  unable  to  tell  whether  the 
course  of  the  river  through  it  is  broken  by  other  and  larger 
cataracts  than  the  two  we  have  seen,  or  whether  its  con- 
tinuous descent  alone  has  produced  the  enormous  depth 
to  which  it  has  attained.  Rumors  of  falls  a  thousand  feet 
in  height  have  often  reached  us  before  we  made  this  visit. 
At  all  points  w^here  we  approached  the  edge  of  the  canon 
the  river  was  descending  with  fearful  momentum  through 
it,  and  the  rapids  and  foam  from  the  dizzy  summit  of  the 
rock  overhanging  the  lower  fall,  and  especially  from  points 
farther  down  the  canon,  were  so  terrible  to  behold,  that 
none  of  our  company  could  venture  the  experiment  in  any 
other  manner  than  by  lying  prone  upon  the  rock,  to  gaze 
into  its  awful  depths;  depths  so  amazing  that  the  sound  of 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        31 

the  rapids  in  their  course  over  immense  boulders,  and  lash- 
ing in  fury  the  base  of  the  rocks  on  which  we  were  lying, 
could  not  be  heard.  The  stillness  is  horrible,  and  the  sol- 
emn grandeur  of  the  scene  surpasses  conception.    You  feel 


GRAND  CANON. 

the  absence  of  sound — the  oppression  of  absolute  silence. 
Down,  down,  down,  you  see  the  river  attenuated  to  a 
thread.  If  you  could  only  hear  that  gurgling  river,  lashing 
with  puny  strength  the  massive  walls  that  imprison  it  and 


32        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

hold  it  in  their  dismal  shadow,  if  toii  could  but  see  a  living 
thing  in  the  depth  beneath  you,  if  a  bird  would  but  fly  past 
you,  if  the  wind  would  move  any  object  in  that  awful 
chasm,  to  break  for  a  moment  the  solemn  silence  which 
reigns  there,  it  would  relieve  that  tension  of  the  nerves 
which  the  scene  has  excited,  and  with  a  grateful  heart  you 
would  thank  God  that  he  had  permitted  you  to  gaze  un- 
harmed upon  this  majestic  display  of  his  handiwork.  But 
as  it  is,  the  spirit  of  man  sympathizes  with  the  deep  gloom 
of  the  scene,  and  the  brain  reels  as  you  gaze  into  this 
profound  and  solemn  solitude. 

The  place  where  I  obtained  the  best  and  most  terrible 
view  of  the  canon  was  a  narrow  projecting  point  situated 
two  or  three  miles  below  the  lower  fall.*  Standing  there 
or  rather  lying  there  for  greater  safety,  I  thought  how  ut- 
terly impossible  it  would  be  to  describe  to  another  the  sen- 
sations inspired  by  such  a  presence.  As  I  took  in  this  scene, 
I  realized  my  own  littleness,  my  helplessness,  my  dread  ex- 
posure to  destruction,  my  inability  to  cope  with  or  even 
comprehend  the  mighty  architecture  of  nature.  More  than 
all  this  I  felt  as  never  before  my  entire  dependence  upon 
that  Almighty  Power  w^ho  had  wrought  these  wonders.  A 
sense  of  danger,  lest  the  rock  should  crumble  away,  almost 
overpowered  me.  My  knees  trembled,  and  I  experienced 
the  terror  which  causes  men  to  turn  pale  and  their  counte- 
nances to  blanch  with  fear,  and  I  recoiled  from  the  vision 
I  had  seen,  glad  to  feel  the  solid  earth  beneath  me  and  to 
realize  the  assurance  of  returning  safety. 

The  scenery  surrounding  the  canon  and  falls  on  both 
banks  of  the  Yellowstone  is  enlivened  by  all  the  hues  of 
abundant  vegetation.  The  foot-hills  approach  the  river, 
crowned  with  a  vesture  of  evergreen  pines.    Meadows  ver- 


*Now  called  Inspiration  Point. 


Washburn  Yelloavstone  Expedition  of  1870.         33 

dant  with  grasses  and  shrubbery  stretch  away  to  the  base 
of  the  distant  mountains,  which,  rolling  into  ridges,  rising 
into  peali:s,  and  breaking  into  chains,  are  defined  in  the 
deepest  blue  upon  the  horizon.  To  render  the  scene  still 
more  imposing,  remarkable  volcanic  deposits,  wonderful 
boiling  springs,  jets  of  heated  vapor,  large  collections  of 
sulphur,  immense  rocks  and  petrifications  abound  in  great 
profusion  in  this  immediate  vicinity.  The  river  is  filled 
with  trout,  and  bear,  elk,  deer,  mountain  lions  and  lesser 
game  roam  the  plains,  forests  and  mountain  fastnesses. 

The  two  grand  falls  of  the  Yellowstone  form  a  fitting 
completion  to  this  stupendous  climax  of  wonders.  They 
impart  life,  power,  light  and  majesty  to  an  assemblage  of 
elements,  which  without  them  would  be  the  most  gloomy 
and  horrible  solitude  in  nature.  Their  eternal  anthem, 
echoing  from  canon,  mountain,  rock  and  woodland,  thrills 
you  with  delight,  and.  you  gaze  with  rapture  at  the  iris- 
crowned  curtains  of  fleecy  foam  as  they  plunge  into  gulfs 
enveloped  in  mist  and  spray.  The  stillness  which  held  your 
senses  spellbound,  as  you  peered  into  the  dismal  depths  of 
the  caiion  below,  is  now  broken  by  the  uproar  of  waters; 
the  terror  it  inspired  is  superseded  by  admiration  and  as- 
tonishment, and  the  scene,  late  so  painful  from  its  silence 
and  gloom,  is  now  animate  with  joy  and  revelry. 

The  upper  fall,  as  determined  by  the  rude  means  of 
measurement  at  our  command,  is  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
feet  in  height.  The  river  approaches  it  through  a  passage 
of  rocks  which  rise  one  hundred  feet  on  either  side  above 
its  surface.  Until  within  half  a  mile  of  the  brink  of  the  fall 
the  river  is  peaceful  and  unbroken  by  a  ripple.  Suddenly, 
as  if  aware  of  impending  danger,  it  becomes  lashed  into 
foam,  circled  with  eddies,  and  soon  leaps  into  fearful  rap- 
ids. The  rocky  jaws  confining  it  gradually  converge  as  it 
approaches  the  edge  of  the    fall,  bending  its  course  by 


34        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

their  projections,  and  apparently  crowding  back  the 
water,  which  struggles  and  leaps  against  their  bases, 
warring  with  its  bounds  in  the  impatience  of  restraint, 
and  madly  leaping  from  its  confines,  a  liquid  emer- 
ald wreathed  with  foam,  into  the  abyss  beneath.  The 
sentinel  rocks,  a  hundred  feet  asunder,  could  easily  be 
spanned  by  a  bridge  directly  over  and  in  front  of  the  fall, 
and  fancy  led  me  forward  to  no  distant  period  when  such 
an  effort  of  airy  architecture  would  be  crowded  with  happy 
gazers  from  all  portions  of  our  country.  A  quarter  of  the 
way  between  the  verge  and  the  base  of  the  fall  a  rocky  ta- 
ble projects  from  the  west  bank,  in  front  of  and  almost 
within  reaching  distance  of  it,  furnishing  a  point  of  ob- 
servation where  the  finest  view  can  be  obtained.  In  order 
to  get  a  more  perfect  view  of  the  cararact,  Mr.  Hedges  and 
I  made  our  way  down  to  this  table  rock,  where  we  sat  for  a 
long  time.  As  from  this  spot  we  looked  up  at  the  descend- 
ing waters,  we  insensibly  felt  that  the  slightest  protrusion 
in  them  would  hurl  us  backwards  into  the  gulf  below.  A 
thousand  arrows  of  foam,  apparently  aimed  at  us,  leaped 
from  the  verge,  and  passed  rapidly  down  the  sheet.  But  as 
the  view  grew  upon  us,  and  we  comprehended  the  power, 
majesty  and  beauty  of  the  scene,  we  became  insensible  to 
danger  and  gave  ourselves  up  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  it. 

Very  beautiful  as  is  this  fall,  it  is  greatly  excelled  in 
grandeur  and  magnificence  by  the  cataract  half  a  mile  be- 
low it,  where  the  river  takes  another  perpendicular  plunge 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  into  the  most  gloomy 
cavern  that  ever  received  so  majestic  a  visitant.  Between 
the  two  falls,  the  river,  though  bordered  by  lofty  precipices, 
expands  in  width  and  flows  gently  over  a  nearly  level  sur- 
face until  its  near  approach  to  the  verge.  Here  a  sudden 
convergence  in  the  rocks  compresses  its  channel,  and  with 
a  gurgling,  choking  struggle,  it  leaps  with  a  single  bound, 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       35 

sheer  from  an  even  level  shelf,  into  the  tremendous  chasm. 
The  sheet  could  not  be  more  perfect  if  wrought  by  art. 
The  Almighty  has  vouchsafed  no  grander  scene  to  human 
eyes.  Every  object  that  meets  the  vision  increases  its  sub- 
limity.    There  is  a  majestic  harmony  in  the  whole,  which 


LOWER  FALL  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE. 


I  have  never  seen  before  in  nature's  grandest  works.  The 
fall  itself  takes  its  leap  between  the  jaws  of  rocks  whose 
vertical  height  above  it  is  more  than  six  hundred  feet,  and 
more  than  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  chasm  into  which  it 
falls.     Long  before  it  reaches  the  base  it  is  enveloped  in 


36        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

spray,  which  is  woven  by  the  sun's  rays  into  bows  radiant 
with  all  the  colors  of  the  prism,  and  arching  the  face  of 
the  cataract  with  their  glories.  Five  hundred  feet  below  the 
edge  of  the  canon,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above 
the  verge  of  the  cataract,  and  overlooking  the  deep  gorge 
beneath,  on  the  flattened  summit  of  a  projecting  crag,  I 
lay  with  my  face  turned  into  the  boiling  chasm,  and  with 
a  stone  suspended  by  a  large  cord  measured  its  profound- 
est  depths.  Three  times  in  its  descent  the  cord  was  parted 
by  abrasion,  but  at  last,  securing  the  weight  with  a  leather 
band,  I  was  enabled  to  ascertain  by  a  measurement  which  I 
think  quite  exact,  the  height  of  the  fall.  It  is  a  little 
more  than  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet;  while  the  per- 
pendicular wall  down  which  I  suspended  the  weight  was 
five  hundred  and  ten  feet. 

Looking  down  from  this  lofty  eminence  through  the 
canon  below  the  falls,  the  scene  is  full  of  grandeur.  The 
descent  of  the  river  for  more  than  a  mile  is  marked  by  con- 
tinuous cascades  varying  in  height  from  five  to  twenty  feet, 
and  huge  rapids  breaking  over  the  rocks,  and  lashing  with 
foam  the  precipitous  sides  of  the  gorge.  A  similar  descent 
through  the  entire  canon  (thirty  miles),  is  probable,  as  in 
no  other  way  except  by  distinct  cataracts  of  enormous 
height  can  the  difference  in  altitude  between  this  point  and 
its  outlet  be  explained.  The  colors  of  the  rock,  which  is 
shaly  in  character,  are  variegated  with  yellow,  gray  and 
brown,  and  the  action  of  the  water  in  its  rapid  passage 
down  the  sides  of  the  canon  has  worn  the  fragments  of 
shale  into  countless  capricious  forms.  Jets  of  steam  issue 
from  the  sides  of  the  canon  at  frequent  intervals,  marking 
the  presence  of  thermal  springs  and  active  volcanic  forces. 
The  evidence  of  a  recession  of  the  river  through  the  canon 
is  designated  by  the  ridges  apparent  on  its  sides,  and  it  is 
not  improbable  that  at  no  distant  day  the  lower  fall  will 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       37 

become  blended  by  this  process  with  the  upper,  forming  a 
single  cataract  nearly  five  hundred  feet  in  height. 

There  are  but  few  places  where  the  sides  of  the  Grand 
canon  can  be  descended  with  safety.  Hauser  and  Stickney 
made  the  descent  at  a  point  where  the  river  was  1,050  feet 
below  the  edge  of  the  canon,  as  determined  by  triangula-- 
tion  by  Mr.  Hauser.  Lieutenant  Doane,  accompanied  by  his 
orderly,  went  down  the  river  several  miles,  and  following 
down  the  bed  of  a  lateral  stream  reached  its  junction  with 
the  Yellowstone  at  a  point  where  the  canon  was  about  1,500 
feet  in  depth — the  surface  of  the  ground  rising  the  farther 
he  went  down  the  river. 

Mr.  Hedges  and  I  sat  on  the  table-rock  to  which  I  have 
referred,  opposite  the  upper  fall,  as  long  as  our  limited 
time  would  permit;  and  as  we  reluctantly  left  it  and 
climbed  to  the  top,  I  expressed  my  regret  at  leaving  so 
fascinating  a  spot,  quoting  the  familiar  line: 

"A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever." 

Mr.  Hedges  asked  me  who  was  the  author  of  the  line,  but 
I  could  not  tell.    I  will  look  it  up  on  my  return.* 

Yes!  This  stupendous  display  of  nature's  handiwork  will 
be  to  me  "a  joy  forever."  It  lingers  in  my  memory  like  the 
faintly  defined  outlines  of  a  dream.  I  can  scarcely  realize 
that  in  the  unbroken  solitude  of  this  majestic  range  of 
rocks,  away  from  civilization  and  almost  inaccessible  to 
human  approach,  the  Almighty  has  placed  so  many  of  the 
most  wonderful  and  magnificent  objects  of  His  creation, 
and  that  I  am  to  be  one  of  the  few  first  to  bring  them  to  the 
notice  of  the  world.  Truly  has  it  been  said,  that  we  live  to 
learn  how  little  may  be  known,  and  of  what  we  see,  how 
much  surpasses  comprehension. 

*The  above  quotation  is  from  a  poem  by  John  Keats. 


38       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

Thursday,  September  1. — We  did  not  break  camp  till 
nearly  ten  o'clock  this  morning,  the  pack-train  crossing 
Cascade  creek  at  its  head,  and  coming  into  the  riyer  trail 
about  two  miles  aboye  the  upper  fall.  The  more  direct 
trail — shorter  by  one  and  a  half  miles — runs  along  the  bank 
of  the  riyer. 

,  ,^f  we  had  not  decided,  last  night,  that  we  would  moye  on 
tprd^^j  I  think  that  eyery  member  of  the  party  would  haye 
iieen  glad  to  stay  another  day  at  the  canon  and  falls.  I 
will,  howeyer,  except  out  of  the  number  our  comrade  Jake 
Smith.  The  afternoon  of  our  arriyal  at  the  canon  (day  be- 
fore yesterday),  after  half  an  hour  of  inspection  of  the  falls 
and  caiion,  he  said:  "Well,  boys,  I  haye  seen  all  there  is, 
and  I  am  ready  to  moye  on.'' 

Howeyer,  the  perceptible  decline  in  our  larder,  and  the 
uncertainty  of  the  time  to  be  occupied  in  further  explora- 
tions, forbid  more  than  these  two  days'  stay  at  the  falls 
and  caiion.  The  sun  this  morning  shone  brightly,  and  its 
rays  were  reflected  upon  the  sides  of  the  dismal  caiion — so 
dark,  and  gray,  and  still — enliyening  and  brightening  it. 
To-day  has  been  warm,  and  nature  this  morning  seemed 
determined  that  our  last  look  should  be  the  brightest,  for 
the  beauties  of  the  entire  landscape  inyited  us  to  make  a 
longer  stay,  and  we  lingered  till  the  last  moment,  that  the 
final  impression  might  not  be  lost. 

Pursuing  our  journey,  at  two  miles  aboye  the  falls  we 
crossed  a  small  stream  which  we  named  "Alum"  creek,  as 
it  is  strongly  impregnated  with  alum. 

Six  miles  aboye  the  upper  fall  we  entered  upon  a  region 
remarkable  for  the  number  and  yariety  of  its  hot  springs 
and  craters.  The  principal  spring,  and  the  one  that  first 
meets  the  eye  as  you  approach  from  the  north,  is  a  hot  sul- 
phur spring,  of  oval  shape,  the  water  of  which  is  constantly 
boiling  and  is  thrown  up  to  the  height  of  from  three  to  sev- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.        39 

en  feet.  Its  two  diameters  are  about  twelve  feet  and  twen- 
ty feet,  and  it  has  an  indented  border  of  seemingly  pure 
sulphur,  about  two  feet  wide  and  extending  down  into  the 
spring  or  cauldron  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  which  at  the 
time  of  our  visit,  if  it  had  been  at  rest,  would  have  been 
fifteen  or  eighteen  inches  below  the  rim  of  the  spring.  This 
spring  is  situated  at  the  base  of  a  low  mountain,  and  the 
gentle  slope  below  and  around  the  spring  for  the  distance 
of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  feet  is  covered  to  the 
depth  of  from  three  to  ten  inches  with  the  sulphurous  de- 
posit from  the  overflow  of  the  spring.  The  moistened  bed 
of  a  dried-up  rivulet,  leading  from  the  edge  of  the  spring 
down  inside  through  this  deposit,  showed  us  that  the  spring 
had  but  recently  been  overflowing.  Farther  along  the  base 
of  this  mountain  is  a  sulphurous  cavern  about  twenty  feet 
deep,  and  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter  at  its  mouth,  out 
of  which  the  steam  is  thrown  in  jets  with  a  sound  resem- 
bling the  puffing  of  a  steam-boat  when  laboring  over  a 
sand-bar,  and  with  as  much  uniformity  and  intonation  as 
if  emitted  by  a  high-pressure  engine.  From  hundreds  of 
fissures  in  the  adjoining  mountain  from  base  to  summit, 
issue  hot  sulphur  vapors,  the  apertures  through  which  they 
escape  being  encased  in  thick  incrustations  of  sulphur, 
which  in  many  instances  is  perfectly  pure.  There  are  near- 
by a  number  of  small  sulphur  springs,  not  especially  re- 
markable in  appearance. 

About  one  hundred  yards  from  these  springs  is  a  large 
hot  spring  of  irregular  shape,  but  averaging  forty  feet  long 
by  twenty-five  wide,  the  water  of  which  is  of  a  dark  muddy 
color.  Still  farther  on  are  twenty  or  thirty  springs  of  boil- 
ing mud  of  different  degrees  of  consistency  and  color,  and 
of  sizes  varying  from  two  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  of 
depths  below  the  surface  varying  from  three  to  eight  feet. 
The  mud  in  these  springs  is  in  most  eases  a  little  thinner 


40        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

than  mortar  prepared  for  plastering,  and,  as  it  is  thrown 
up  from  one  to  two  feet,  I  can  liken  its  appearance  to 
nothing  so  much  as  Indian  meal  hasty  pudding  when 
the  process  of  boiling  is  nearly  completed,  except  that  the 
puffing,  bloated  bubbles  are  greatly  magnified,  being  from 
a  few  inches  to  two  feet  in  diameter.  In  some  of  the 
springs  the  mud  is  of  dark  brown  color,  in  others  nearly 
pink,  and  in  one  it  was  almost  yellow.  Springs  four  or  five 
feet  in  diameter  and  not  over  six  feet  apart,  have  no  con- 
nection one  with  another  either  above  or  beneath  the  sur- 
face, the  mud  in  them  being  of  different  colors.  In  some 
instances  there  is  a  difference  of  three  feet  in  the  height  to 
which  the  mud  in  adjoining  springs  attains.  There  may 
be  in  some  instances  two  or  more  springs  which  receive 
their  supply  of  mud  and  their  underground  pressure  from 
the  same  general  source,  but  these  instances  are  rare,  nor 
can  we  determine  positively  that  such  is  the  case.  This 
mud  having  been  worked  over  and  over  for  many  years  is  as 
soft  as  the  finest  pigments. 

All  of  these  springs  are  embraced  within  a  circle  the 
radius  of  which  is  from  a  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  feet, 
and  the  whole  of  this  surface  seems  to  be  a  smothered 
crater  covered  over  with  an  incrustation  of  sufficient 
strength  and  thickness  to  bear  usually  a  very  heavy  weight, 
but  which  in  several  instances  yielded  and  even  broke 
through  under  the  weight  of  our  horses  as  we  rode  over  it. 
We  quickly  dismounted,  and  as  we  were  making  some  ex- 
aminations, the  crust  broke  through  several  times  in  some 
thin  places  through  which  vapor  was  issuing.  Under  the 
whole  of  this  incrustation  the  hottest  fires  seem  to  be 
raging,  and  the  heat  issuing  from  the  vents  or  from  the 
crevices  caused  from  the  breaking  in  of  the  surface  is  too 
intense  to  be  borne  by  the  gloved  hand  for  an  instant. 
Surrounding  the  natural  vents  are  deposits  of  pure  sul- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       41 

phur,  portions  of  which  in  many  instances  we  broke  off,  and 
after  allowing  them  to  cool,  brought  them  away  with  us. 
On  the  top  of  the  mountain  overlooking  the  large  sulphur 
spring  is  a  small  living  crater  about  six  inches  in  diameter, 
out  of  which  issue  hot  vapor  and  smoke.  On  the  slope  ad- 
joining the  mud  spring  is  another  crater  of  irregular  shape, 
but  embracing  about  one  hundred  square  inches,  out  of 
which  issues  hot  vapor,  the  rocks  adjoining  changing  color 
under  the  intense  heat  with  every  breath  blown  upon  them. 

The  tramp  of  our  horses'  feet  as  we  rode  over  the  incrust- 
ation at  the  base  of  the  mountain  returned  a  hollow  sound; 
yet  while  some  of  our  party  w^ere  not  disposed  to  venture 
upon  it  with  their  horses,  still  I  think  with  care  in  select- 
ing a  route  there  is  very  little  danger  in  riding  over  it. 

On  the  mountain,  large  quantities  of  sulphur  formed  by 
the  conden^'tion  of  the  vapor  issuing  from  the  crevices, 
now  closed,  but  once  in  activity  in  the  incrusted  covering, 
have  been  deposited,  and  we  collected  many  specimens  of 
pure  and  crystallized  sulphur.  Thousands  of  pounds  of  pure 
and  nearly  pure  sulphur  are  now  lying  on  the  top  and  sides 
of  the  mountain,  all  of  which  can  be  easily  gathered  with 
the  aid  of  a  spade  to  detach  it  from  the  mountain  side  in- 
crustations to  which  it  adheres  in  the  process  of  condensa- 
tion.   We  gave  to  this  mountain  the  name  "Crater  hill." 

Five  miles  further  on  we  camped  near  the  "Mud  geyser." 
Our  course  today  has  been  for  the  greater  part  over  a  level 
valley,  which  was  plainly  visible  from  the  top  of  Mount 
Washburn.  The  water  of  the  river  at  this  point  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  mineral  bases  of  the  springs  sur- 
rounding our  camp,  and  that  empty  into  the  river  above  it. 

Friday,  September  2. — To-day  we  have  occupied  our- 
selves in  examining  the  springs  and  other  wonders  at  this 
point.  At  the  base  of  the  foot-hills  adjoining  our  camp  are 
three  large  springs  of  thick  boiling  mud,  the  largest  of 


42        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

which  resembles  an  immense  cauldron.  It  is  about  thirty 
feet  in  diameter,  bordered  by  a  rim  several  feet  wide,  upon 
which  one  can  stand  within  reach  of  the  boiling  mass  of 
mud,  the  surface  of  which  is  four  or  five  feet  below  the 
rim  enclosing  it,  the  rim  being  a  little  raised  above  the  sur- 
rounding level.  Some  twelve  or  fifteen  rods  from  this 
spring  are  two  other  springs  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in 
diameter.  Near  by  is  a  hot  (not  boiling)  spring  of  sulphur, 
fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  diameter,  too  hot  to  bathe  in. 
From  these  we  passed  over  the  timbered  hill  at  the  base  of 
which  these  springs  are  situated.  In  the  timber  along  the 
brow  of  the  hill  and  near  its  summit,  and  immediately  un- 
der the  living  trees,  the  hot  sulphur  vapor  and  steam  is- 
sue from  several  fissures  or  craters,  showing  that  the  hot- 
test fires  are  raging  at  some  point  beneath  the  surface 
crust,  which  in  a  great  many  places  gives  forth  a  hollow 
sound  as  we  pass  over  it.  Through  a  little  coulee  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hill  runs  a  small  stream  of  greenish  wa- 
ter, which  issues  from  a  small  cavern,  the  mouth  of  which 
is  about  five  feet  high  and  the  same  dimension  in  width. 
From  the  mouth,  the  roof  of  the  cavern  descends  at  an  an- 
gle of  about  fifteen  degrees,  till  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
feet  from  the  entrance  it  joins  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  bottom  of  the  cavern  under  the  water  seems  to  descend 
at  about  the  same  angle,  but  as  the  water  is  in  constant 
ebullition,  we  cannot  determine  this  fact  accurately.  The 
water  is  thrown  out  in  regular  spasmodic  jets,  the  pulsa- 
tions occurring  once  in  ten  or  twelve  seconds.  The  sides 
and  mouth  of  this  cavern  are  covered  with  a  dark  green  de- 
posit, some  of  which  we  have  taken  with  us  for  analysis. 
About  two  hundred  yards  farther  on  is  another  geyser,  the 
flow  of  which  occurs  about  every  six  hours,  and  when  the 
crater  is  full  the  diameter  of  the  surface  is  about  fourteen 
feet,  the  sides  of  the  crater  being  of  an  irregular  funnel- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        43 

shape,  and  descending  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  de- 
grees. At  the  lowest  point  at  which  we  saw  the  water  it 
was  about  seven  feet  in  diameter  on  the  surface.  One  or 
another  of  our  party  watched  the  gradual  rise  of  the  water 
for  four  or  five  hours.  The  boiling  commenced  when  the 
water  had  risen  half  way  to  the  surface,  occasionally  break- 
ing forth  with  great  violence.  When  the  water  had  reached 
its  full  height  in  the  basin,  the  stream  was  thrown  up  with 
great  force  to  a  height  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  the 
column  being  from  seven  to  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
midway  height  of  the  column,  from  bottom  to  top.  The 
water  was  of  a  dark  lead  color,  and  those  portions  of  the 
sides  of  the  crater  that  were  overflowed  and  then  exposed 
by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  water  were  covered  with  stalag- 
mites formed  by  the  deposit  from  the  geyser. 

While  surveying  these  wonders,  our  ears  were  constantly 
saluted  by  dull,  thundering,  booming  sounds,  resembling  the 
reports  of  distant  artillery.  As  we  approached  the  spot 
whence  they  proceeded,  the  ground  beneath  us  shook  and 
trembled  as  from  successive  shocks  of  an  earthquake.  As- 
cending a  small  hillock,  the  cause  of  the  uproar  was  found 
to  be  a  mud  volcano — the  greatest  marvel  we  have  yet  met 
with.  It  is  about  midway  up  a  gentle  pine-covered  slope, 
above  which  on  the  lower  side  its  crater,  thirty  feet  in 
diameter,  rises  to  a  height  of  about  thirty-five  feet.  Dense 
masses  of  steam  issue  with  explosive  force  from  this  crater, 
into  whose  tapering  mouth,  as  they  are  momentarily  dis- 
pelled by  the  wind,  we  can  see  at  a  depth  of  about  forty 
feet  the  regurgitating  contents.  The  explosions  are  not 
uniform  in  force  or  time,  varying  from  three  to  eight  sec- 
onds, and  occasionally  with  perfect  regularity  occurring 
every  five  seconds.  They  are  very  distinctly  heard  at  the 
distance  of  half  a  mile,  and  the  massive  jets  of  vapor  which 


44        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

accompany  them  burst  forth  like  the  smoke  of  burning  gun- 
powder* 

Some  of  these  pulsations  are  much  more  violent  than 
others,  but  each  one  is  accompanied  by  the  discharge  of  an 
immense  volume  of  steam,  which  at  once  shuts  off  all  view 
of  the  inside  of  the  crater ;  but  sometimes,  during  the  few 
seconds  intervening  between  the  pulsations,  or  when  a 
breeze  for  a  moment  carries  the  steam  to  one  side  of  the 
crater,  we  can  see  to  the  depth  of  thirty  feet  into  the  volcano, 
but  cannot  often  discover  the  boiling  mud;  though  occa- 
sionally, when  there  occurs  an  unusually  violent  spasm  or 
concussion,  a  mass  of  mud  as  large  in  bulk  as  a  hogshead 
is  thrown  up  as  high  as  our  heads,  emitting  blinding  clouds 
of  steam  in  all  directions,  and  crowding  all  observers  back 
from  the  edge  of  the  crater.  We  were  led  to  believe  that 
this  volcano  has  not  been  long  in  existence;  but  that  it 
burst  forth  the  present  summer  but  a  few  months  ago. 
The  green  leaves  and  the  limbs  of  the  surrounding  forest 
trees  are  covered  with  fresh  clay  or  mud,  as  is  also  the 
newly  grown  grass  for  the  distance  of  180  feet  from  the 
crater.  On  the  top  branches  of  some  of  the  trees  near  by — 
trees  150  feet  high — we  found  particles  of  dried  mud  that 
had  fallen  upon  the  high  branches  in  their  descent  just 
after  this  first  outburst,  which  must  have  thrown  the  con- 
tents of  the  volcano  as  high  as  250  or  300  feet.  Mr.  Hauser, 
whose  experience  as  an  engineer  and  with  projectile  forces 
entitles  his  opinion  to  credit,  estimates  from  the  particles 
of  mud  upon  the  high  trees,  and  the  distance  to  which  they 
were  thrown,  that  the  mud  had  been  thrown,  in  this  explo- 
sion, to  the  height  of  between  300  and  400  feet.  By  actual 
measurement  we  found  particles  of  this  mud  186  feet  from 
the  edge  of  the  crater. 

We  did  not  dare  to  stand  upon  the  leeward  side  of  the 
crater  and  withstand    the    force  of    the    steam;    and    Mr. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        45 

Hedges,  having  ventured  too  near  the  rim  on  that  side,  en- 
dangered his  life  by  his  temerity,  and  was  thrown  violently 
down  the  exterior  side  of  the  crater  by  the  force  of  the  vol- 
ume of  steam  emitted  during  one  of  these  fearful  convul- 
sions. General  Washburn  and  I,  who  saw  him  fall,  were 
greatly  concerned  lest  while  regaining  his  feet,  being 
blinded  by  the  steam,  and  not  knowing  in  which  direction 
to  turn,  he  should  fall  into  the  crater. 

Between  the  volcano,  the  mud  geyser  and  the  cavern 
spring  are  a  number  of  hot  sulphur  and  mud  springs,  of 
sizes  varying  from  two  to  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and  many 
openings  or  crevices  from  which  issue  hot  vapor  or  steam, 
the  mouths  of  which  are  covered  with  sulphur  deposits  or 
other  incrustations. 

From  the  mud  volcano  we  moved  up  the  valley  about  four 
miles  to  our  camp  on  the  river,  passing  several  mud  puffs 
on  the  way.  One  of  the  soldiers  brought  in  a  large  string 
of  river  trout,  but  the  water  of  the  river  is  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  the  overflow  from  springs  near  its  bank,  and  is 
not  palatable.  Some  of  our  party  who  have  drank  the 
water  are  feeling  nauseated.  Others  think  that  their  illness 
is  caused  by  partaking  too  freely  of  one  of  the  luxuries  of 
our  larder,  canned  peaches.  I  assuaged  my  thirst  with  the 
peaches,  and  have  not  partaken  of  the  water,  and  there  is 
no  one  in  our  camp  in  finer  condition  than  I  am. 

Lieutenant  Doane's  felon  has  caused  him  great  suffering 
to-day,  and  I  have  appealed  to  him  to  allow  me  to  lance  it. 
I  have  for  many  years  carried  a  lancet  in  my  pocketbook, 
but  I  find  that  I  have  inadvertently  left  it  at  home.  So  all 
this  day,  while  on  horseback,  I  have  been  preparing  for  the 
surgical  operation  by  sharpening  my  penknife  on  the  leath- 
ern pommel  of  my  saddle  as  I  rode  along.  I  have  in  my 
seamless  sack  a  few  simple  medicines,  including  a  vial  of 
chloroform.     Lieutenant  Doane  has  almost  agreed  to  let 


46       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

me  open  the  felon,  provided  I  put  him  to  sleep  with  the 
chloroform;  but  I  feel  that  I  am  too  much  of  a  novice  in 
the  business  to  administer  it.  However,  I  have  told  him 
that  I  would  do  so  if  he  demanded  it.  Our  elevation  to-day 
is  about  7,500  feet  above  sea  level. 

Saturday,  September  3. — This  morning  General  Wash- 
burn and  I  left  camp  immediately  after  breakfast  and  re- 
turned four  miles  on  our  track  of  September  1st  to  Crater 
Hill  and  the  mud  springs,  for  the  purpose  of  making  farther 
examinations.  We  found  the  sulphur  boiling  spring  to  be 
full  to  overflowing,  the  water  running  down  the  inclined 
surface  of  the  crust  in  two  different  directions.  It  was  also 
boiling  with  greater  force  than  it  was  when  we  first  saw  it, 
the  water  being  occasionally  thrown  up  to  the  height  of  ten 
feet.  About  80  or  100  yards  from  this  spring  we  found 
what  we  had  not  before  discovered,  a  boiling  spring  of  tar- 
taric acid  in  solution,  with  deposits  around  the  edge  of  the 
spring,  of  which  we  gathered  a  considerable  quantity.  In 
the  basin  where  we  had  found  so  many  mud  springs  we 
to-day  found  a  hot  boiling  spring  containing  a  substance  of 
deep  yellow  color,  the  precise  nature  of  which  we  could  not 
readily  ascertain.  We  accordingly  brought  away  some  of 
it  in  a  bottle  (as  is  our  usual  custom  in  such  cases  of  un- 
certainty), and  we  will  have  an  analysis  of  it  made  on  our 
return  home.  In  the  same  basin  we  also  found  some  speci- 
mens of  black  lava. 

A  half  mile  south  of  these  springs  we  found  an  alum 
spring  yielding  but  little  water  and  surrounded  with  beau- 
tiful alum  crystals.  From  its  border  we  obtained  a  great 
many  curiously  shaped  deposits  of  alum  slightly  impreg- 
nated with  iron.  The  border  of  this  spring  below  the  sur- 
face had  been  undermined  in  many  places  by  the  violent 
boiling  of  the  water,  to  the  distance  of  several  feet  from 
the  margin,  so  that  it  was  unsafe  to  stand  near  the  edge 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  ob"  1870.        47 

of  the  spring.  This,  however,  I  did  not  at  first  perceive; 
and,  as  I  was  unconcernedly  passing  by  the  spring,  my 
weight  made  the  border  suddenly  slough  off  beneath  my  feet. 
General  Washburn  noticed  the  sudden  cracking  of  the  in- 
crustation before  I  did,  and  I  was  aroused  to  a  sense  of  my 
peril  by  his  shout  of  alarm,  and  had  sufficient  presence  of 
mind  to  fall  suddenly  backwards  at  full  length  upon  the 
sound  crust,  whence,  with  my  feet  and  legs  extended  over 
the  spring,  I  roiled  to  a  place  of  safety.  But  for  General 
Washburn's  shout  of  alarm,  in  another  instant  I  would 
have  been  precipitated  into  this  boiling  pool  of  alum.  We 
endeavored  to  sound  the  depth  of  this  spring  with  a  pole 
twenty-five  feet  long,  but  we  found  no  bottom. 

Everything  around  us — air,  earth,  water — is  impregnated 
with  sulphur.  We  feel  it  in  every  drop  of  water  we  drink, 
and  in  every  breath  of  air  we  inhale.  Our  silver  watches 
have  turned  to  the  color  of  poor  brass,  tarnished. 

General  Washburn  and  I  again  visited  the  mud  vulcano 
to-day.  I  especially  desired  to  see  it  again  for  the  one  es- 
pecial purpose,  among  others  of  a  general  nature,  of  assur- 
ing myself  that  the  notes  made  in  my  diary  a  few  days  ago 
are  not  exaggerated.  No!  they  are  not!  The  sensations 
inspired  in  me  to-day,  on  again  witnessing  its  convulsions, 
and  the  dense  clouds  of  vapor  expelled  in  rapid  succession 
from  its  crater,  amid  the  jarring  of  the  earth,  and  the  omin- 
ous intonations  from  beneath,  were  those  of  mingled  dread 
and  wonder.  At  war  with  all  former  experience  it  was  so 
novel,  so  unnaturally  natural,  that  I  feel  while  now  writing 
and  thinking  of  it,  as  if  my  own  senses  might  have  deceived 
me  with  a  mere  figment  of  the  imagination.  But  it  is  not 
so.  The  wonder,  than  which  this  continent,  teeming  with 
nature's  grandest  exhibitions,  contains  nothing  more  mar- 
velous, still  stands  amid  the  solitary  fastnesses  of  the  Yel- 


48       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

lowstone,  to  excite  the  astonishment  of  the  thousands  who 
in  coming  years  shall  visit  that  remarkable  locality.* 

Returning  to  the  camp  we  had  left  in  the  morning,  we 
found  the  train  had  crossed  the  river,  and  we  forded  at  the 
same  place,  visiting,  however,  on  our  way  another  large 
cauldron  of  boiling  mud  hing  nearly  opposite  our  camp. 
Soon  after  fording  the  river  we  discovered  some  evidence 
that  trappers  had  long  ago  visited  this  region.  Here  we 
found  that  the  earth  had  been  thrown  up  two  feet  high,  pre- 
senting an  angle  to  the  river,  quite  ingeniously  concealed 
by  willows,  and  forming  a  sort  of  rifle-pit,  from  which  a 


*Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  geologist  in  charge  of  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey,  first  visited  this  region  in  the  summer  of  1871 — the  year 
following  the  visit  of  the  Washburn  party,  whose  discoveries  and 
explorations  are  recorded  in  this  diary.  Dr.  Hayden,  on  his  re- 
turn, graphically  described  the  various  wonders  which  he  saw,  but 
had  very  little  to  say  concerning  the  mud  volcano.  This  fact  was 
the  more  inexplicE^ble  to  me  for  the  reason  that  the  Washburn  party 
thought  it  one  of  the  most  remarkable  curiosities  to  be  found  in 
that  region,  and  I  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  that  Dr.  Hayden 
made  so  little  allusion  to  it. 

In  1872,  the  year  following  Dr.  Hayden's  first  visit,  I  again  vis- 
ited the  volcano,  and  the  omission  by  Hayden  was  explained  as 
soon  as  I  saw  the  volcano  in  its  changed  condition.  The  loud  de- 
tonations which  resembled  the  discharges  of  a  gun-boat  mortar 
were  no  longer  heard,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  crater  and  cone 
had  in  a  great  measure  disappeared,  leaving  a  shapeless  and  un- 
sightly hole  much  larger  than  the  former  crater,  in  which  large 
tree-tops  were  swaying  to  and  fro  in  the  gurgling  mass,  forty  feet 
below — the  whole  appearance  bearing  testimony  to  the  terrible  na- 
ture of  the  convulsion  which  wrought  such  destruction.  Lieutenant 
Doane,  in  his  official  report  to  the  War  Department,  thus  describes 
the  volcano  as  it  appeared  in  1870: 

"A  few  hundred  yards  from  here  is  an  object  of  the  greatest 
interest.  On  the  slope  of  a  small  and  steep  wooded  ravine  is  the 
crater  of  a  mud  volcano,  30  feet  in  diameter  at  the  rim,  which  is 
elevated  a  few  feet  above  the  surface  on  the  lower  side,  and 
bounded  by  the  slope  of  the  hill  on  the  upper,  converging,  as  it 
deepens,  to  the  diameter  of  15  feet  at  the  lowest  visible  point,  about 
40  feet  down.  Heavy  volumes  of  steam  escape  from  this  opening, 
ascending  to  the  height  of  300  feet.  From  far  down  in  the  earth 
came  a  jarring  sound,  in  regular  beats  of  five  seconds,  with  a  con- 
cussion that  shook  the  ground  at  200  yards'  distance.  After  each 
concussion  came  a  splash  of  mud,  as  if  thrown  to  a  great  height; 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       49 

hunter  without  disclosing  his  hiding  place  could  bring  down 
swans,  geese,  ducks,  pelicans,  and  even  the  furred  animals 
that  made  their  homes  along  the  river  bank. 

We  followed  the  trail  of  the  advance  party  along  the  bank 
of  the  river,  and  most  of  the  way  through  a  dense  forest  of 
pine  timber  and  over  a  broad  swampy  lowland,  when  we 
came  into  their  camp  on  the  Yellowstone  lake  two  miles 
from  where  it  empties  into  the  river,  and  about  ten  miles 
from  our  morning  camp.  We  passed  Brimstone  basin  on 
our  left,  and  saw  jets  of  steam  rising  from  the  hills  back 
of  it.     From  all  appearances  the  I'ellowstone  can  be  forded 


sometimes  it  could  be  seen  from  the  edge  of  the  crater,  but  none 
was  entirely  ejected  while  we  were  there.  Occasionally  an  explo- 
sion was  heard  like  the  bursting  of  heavy  guns  behind  an  embank- 
ment, and  causing  the  earth  to  tremble  for  a  mile  around.  The 
distance  to  which  this  mud  had  been  thrown  is  truly  astonishing. 
The  ground  and  falling  trees  near  by  were  splashed  at  a  horizontal 
distance  of  200  feet.  The  trees  below  were  either  broken  down 
or  their  branches  festooned  with  dry  mud,  which  appeared  in  the 
tops  of  the  trees  growing  on  the  side  hill  from  the  same  level  with 
the  crater,  50  feet  in  height,  and  at  a  distance  of  180  feet  from  the 
volcano.  The  mud,  to  produce  such  effects,  must  have  been  thrown 
to  a  perpendicular  elevation  of  at  least  300  feet.  It  was  with  diffi- 
culty we  could  believe  the  evidence  of  our  senses,  and  only  after 
the  most  careful  measurements  could  we  realize  the  immensity  of 
this  wonderful  phenomenon." 

The  visitor  to  the  Park  who  has  read  the  description  given  by 
Washburn,  Hedges,  Doane  or  myself,  of  the  mud  volcano  as  it  ap- 
peared in  1870,  will  readily  perceive  that  it  has  undergone  a  great 
change  since  the  time  of  its  first  discovery. 

In  my  account  of  my  trip  made  in  1872,  published  in  Scribner's 
(now  Century)  Magazine  for  June,  1873,  I  say,  concerning  this 
change:  "A  large  excavation  remained;  and  a  seething,  bubbling 
mass  of  mud,  with  several  tree-tops  swaying  to  and  fro  in  the  midst, 
told  how  terrible  and  how  effectual  must  have  been  the  explosions 
which  produced  such  devastation.  I  could  not  realize  that  in  this 
unsightly  hole  I  beheld  all  that  was  left  of  those  physical  wonders 
which  filled  this  extraordinary  region.  *  *  *  Great  trees  that 
then  decorated  the  hillside  were  now  completely  submerged  in  the 
boiling  mass  that  remained." 

The  trees  with  their  green  tops,  which  were  visible  in  1872,  have 
now  entirely  disappeared.  Can  any  one  conjecture  what  has  be- 
come of  them? 


50        Washburn  Ypjllowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

at  almost  any  point  between  the  rapids  just  above  the  upper 
fall  and  the  lake,  unless  there  are  quicksands  and  crevices 
which  must  be  avoided. 

Yellowstone  lake,  as  seen  from  our  camp  to-night,  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  most  beautiful  body  of  water  in  the  world. 
In  front  of  our  camp  it  has  a  wide  sandy  beach  like  that  of 
the  ocean,  w^hich  extends  for  miles  and  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach,  save  that  occasionally  there  is  to  be  found  a 
sharp  projection  of  rocks.  The  overlooking  bench  rises 
from  the  water's  edge  about  eight  feet,  forming  a  bank  of 
sand  or  natural  levee,  which  serves  to  prevent  the  overflow 
of  the  land  adjoining,  which,  when  the  lake  is  receiving  the 
water  from  the  mountain  streams  that  empty  into  it  while 
the  snows  are  melting,  is  several  feet  below  the  surface  of 
the  lake.  On  the  shore  of  the  lake,  within  three  or  four 
miles  of  our  camp,  are  to  be  found  specimens  of  sandstone, 
resembling  clay,  of  sizes  varying  from  that  of  a  walnut  to  a 
flour  barrel,  and  of  every  odd  shape  imaginable.  Fire  and 
water  have  been  at  work  here  together — fire  to  throw  out 
the  deposit  in  a  rough  shape,  and  water  to  polish  it.  From 
our  camp  we  can  see  several  islands  from  five  to  ten  miles 
distant  in  a  direct  line.  Two  of  the  three  '^Tetons,''  which 
are  so  plainly  visible  to  travelers  going  to  Montana  from 
Eagle  Rock  bridge  on  Snake  river,  and  which  are  such  well- 
known  and  prominent  landmarks  on  that  stage  route,  we 
notice  to-night  in  the  direction  of  south  25  degrees  west 
from  our  camp.  We  shall  be  nearer  to  them  on  our  journey 
around  the  lake. 

Sunda}^,  September  4. — This  morning  at  breakfast  time 
Lieutenant  Doane  was  sleeping  soundly  and  snoring  sono- 
rously, and  we  decided  that  we  would  not  waken  him,  but 
would  remain  in  camp  till  the  afternoon  and  perhaps  until 
morning.  Walter  Trumbull  suggested  that  a  proper  defer- 
ence to  Jake  Smith's  religious  sentiments  ought  to  be  a 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       51 

sufficient  reason  for  not  traveling  on  Sunday,  whereupon 
Jake  immediately  exclaimed,  "If  we're  going  to  remain  in 
camp,  let's  have  a  game  of  draw." 

Last  evening  Lieutenant  Doane's  sufferings  were  so  in- 
tense that  General  Washburn  and  I  insisted  that  he  submit 
to  an  operation,  and  have  the  felon  opened,  and  he  con- 
sented provided  I  would  administer  chloroform.  Prepara- 
tions were  accordingly  made  after  supper.  A  box  contain- 
ing army  cartridges  was  improvised  as  an  operating  table, 
and  I  engaged  Mr.  Bean,  one  of  our  packers,  and  Mr.  Hedg- 
es as  assistant  surgeons.  Hedges  was  to  take  his  posi- 
tion at  Doane's  elbow,  and  was  to  watch  my  motion  as  I 
thrust  in  the  knife  blade,  and  hold  the  elbow  and  fore-arm 
firmly  to  prevent  any  involuntary  drawing  back  of  the  arm 
by  Lieutenant  Doane,  at  the  critical  moment.  When  Doane 
was  told  that  we  were  ready,  he  asked,  "Where  is  the 
chloroform?"  I  replied  that  I  had  never  administered  it, 
and  that  after  thinking  the  matter  over  I  was  afraid  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  giving  it.  He  swallowed  his 
disappointment,  and  turned  his  thumb  over  on  the  cartridge 
box,  with  the  nail  down.  Hedges  and  Bean  were  on  hand 
to  steady  the  arm,  and  before  one  could  say  "Jack  Robin- 
son," I  had  inserted  the  point  of  my  penknife,  thrusting  it 
down  to  the  bone,  and  had  ripped  it  out  to  the  end  of  the 
thumb.  Doane  gave  one  shriek  as  the  released  corruption 
flew  out  in  all  directions  upon  surgeon  and  assistants,  and 
then  with  a  broad  smile  on  his  face  he  exclaimed,  "That 
was  elegant!"  We  then  applied  a  poultice  of  bread  and 
water,  which  we  renewed  a  half  hour  later,  and  Doane  at 
about  eight  o'clock  last  night  dropped  off  into  a  seemingly 
peaceful  sleep,  which  has  been  continuous  up  to  the  time 
of  this  writing,  two  o'clock  p.  m.* 


♦Lieutenant  Doane,  on  page  19  of  his  report  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, says  with  reference  to  this  surgical  operation: 


52        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

Evening  of  September  4. — I  have  been  glad  to  have  this 
rest  to-day,  for  with  the  time  spent  in  writing  up  a  de- 
tailed diary  in  addition  to  the  work  about  camp,  I  have 
been  putting  in  about  sixteen  hours  work  each  day.  So 
this  afternoon  a  nap  of  two  or  three  hours  was  a  pleasant 
rest.  I  strolled  for  a  long  distance  down  the  shore,  the 
sand  of  which  abounds  in  small  crystals,  which  some  of 
our  party  think  may  possess  some  value.  Craters  emitting 
steam  through  the  water  are  frequently  seen  beneath  the 
surface,  at  a  distance  of  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  from  its 
margin,  the  water  in  which  is  very  hot,  while  that  of  the 
lake  surrounding  them  I  found  to  be  too  cool  for  a  pleasant 
bath.  In  some  places  the  lake  water  is  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  sulphur.  One  crater  emits  a  jet  of  steam  with 
a  hissing  noise  as  loud  as  that  usually  heard  at  the  blow- 
ing off  of  the  safety  valve  of  a  steamboat.  In  the  clear 
light  of  the  setting  sun,  we  can  see  the  three  Tetons  in  a 
southwesterly  direction. 

Some  member  of  our  party  has  asked  what  is  the  meaning 
Of  the  word  "Teton"  given  to  these  mountains.*     Lieutenant 


"I  had  on  the  previous  evening  teen  nine  days  and  nights  with- 
out sleep  or  rest,  and  was  becoming  very  much  reduced.  My  hand 
was  enormously  swelled,  and  even  ice  water  ceased  to  relieve  the 
pain.  I  could  scarcely  walk  at  all,  from  excessive  weakness.  The 
most  powerful  opiates  had  ceased  to  have  any  effect.  A  consulta- 
tion was  held,  which  resulted  in  having  the  thumb  split  open.  Mr. 
Langford  performed  the  operation  in  a  masterly  manner,  dividing 
thumb,  bone,  and  all.  An  explosion  ensued,  followed  by  immediate 
relief,  I  slept  through  the  night,  all  day,  and  the  next  night,  and 
felt  much  better.  To  Mr.  Langford,  General  Washburn,  Mr.  Stick- 
ney  and  the  others  of  the  party  I  owe  a  lasting  debt  for  their  uni- 
form kindness  and  attention  in  the  hour  of  need." 


♦Repeated  efforts  to  ascend  the  Grand  Teton,  made  prior  to  the 
year  1872,  all  terminated  in  failure.  On  the  29th  day  of  July  of  that 
year  the  summit  was  reached  by  James  Stevenson,  of  the  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey,  and  Nathaniel  P.  Langford,  the  writer  of  this  diary. 
An  account  of  this  ascent  was  published  in  Scribner's  (now  Cen- 
tury) Magazine  for  June,  1873.  The  next  ascent  was  made  in  1898 
by  Rev.  Frank  S.  Spalding,  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  and  W.  O.  Owen, 


F" 


GRAND  TETON. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       53 

Doane  says  it  is  a  French  word  signifying  "Woman's 
Breast,"  and  that  it  was  given  to  these  mountains  by  the 
early  French  explorers,  because  of  their  peculiar  shape.  I 
think  that  the  man  who  gave  them  this  name  must  have 
seen  them  from  a  great  distance ;  for  as  we  approach  them, 
the  graceful  curvilinear  lines  which  obtained  for  them  this 
delicate  appellation  appear  angular  and  ragged.  From  our 
present  point  of  view  the  name  seems  a  misnomer.  If  there 
were  twelve  of  them  instead  of  three,  they  might  better  be 
called  the  "Titans,"  to  illustrate  their  relation  to  the  sur- 
rounding country.  He  indeed  must  have  been  of  a  most 
susceptible  nature,  and,  I  would  fain  believe,  long  a  dweller 
amid  these  solitudes,  who  could  trace  in  these  cold  and  bar- 
ren peaks  any  resemblance  to  the  gentle  bosom  of  woman. 

Monday,  September  5. — Lieutenant  Doane  continued  to 
sleep  all  last  night,  making  a  thirty-six  hours  nap,  and 
after  dressing  his  thumb  and  taking  an  observation  to 
determine  our  elevation,  which  we  found  to  be  7714  feet 
above  the  ocean,  we  broke  camp  at  nine  o'clock.  After  the 
train  had  got  under  way,  I  asked  Mr.  Hedges  to  remain 
behind  and  assist  me  in  measuring,  by  a  rude  system  of 
triangulation,  the  distance  across  the  lake  as  well  as  to 
the  Tetons;  but  owing  to  the  difificulty  we  encountered  in 
laying  out  a  base  line  of  sufficient  length,  we  abandoned 
the  scheme  after  some  two  hours  of  useless  labor. 


of  Wyoming,  and  two  assistants.  This  ascent  was  accomplished 
after  two  failures  of  Mr.  Owen  in  previous  years  to  reach  the  sum- 
mit. Mr.  Owen  then  asserted  that  the  summit  of  the  mountain  was 
not  reached  in  1872  by  Stevenson  and  Langford.  His  efforts — in  which 
Mr.  Spalding  had  no  part — to  impeach  the  statement  of  these  gen- 
tlemen failed  utterly.  Mr.  Spalding,  who  was  the  first  member  of 
his  party  to  reach  the  summit,  writes:  "I  believe  that  Mr.  Lang- 
ford  reached  the  summit  because  he  says  he  did,  and  because  the 
difficulties  of  the  ascent  were  not  great  enough  to  have  prevented 
any  good  climber  from  having  successfully  scaled  the  peak,  *  *  * 
and  I  cannot  understand  why  Mr.  Owen  failed  so  many  times  before 
he  succeeded." 


54 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 


Following  the  trail  of  the  advance  party,  we  traveled 
along  the  lake  beach  for  about  six  miles,  passing  a  number 
of  small  hot  sulphur  springs  and  lukewarm  sulphur  ponds, 
and  three  hot  steam  jets  surrounded  by  sulphur  incrusta- 
tions. After  six  miles,  we  left  the  beach,  and  traveled  on 
the  plateau  overlooking  the  lake.  This  plateau  was  cov- 
ered with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  standing  pine  and  a  great 
deal  of  fallen  timber,  through  which  at  times  considerable 


SLATE  SPECIMENS  FKOM  CURIOSITY  POINT. 
Slate  Cup.  Leg  and  Foot. 


difficulty  was  experienced  in  passing.  A  little  way  from 
the  trail  is  an  alkaline  spring  about  six  feet  in  diameter. 
We  came  to  camp  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  after  having 
marched  fifteen  miles  in  a  southerly  direction.  We  have 
a  most  beautiful  view  of  the  lake  from  our  camp.  Yester- 
day it  lay  before  us  calm  and  unruffled,  save  by  the  waves 
which  gently  broke  upon  the  shore.  To-day  the  winds  lash 
it  into  a  raging  sea,  covering  its  surface  with  foam,  while 
the  sparkling  sand  along  the  shore  seems  to  form  for  it  a 
jeweled  setting,  and  the  long  promontories  stretching  out 
into  it,  with  their  dense  covering  of  pines,  lend  a  charm- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       55 

ing  feature  to  the  scene.  Water  never  seemed  so  beautiful 
before.  Waves  four  feet  high  are  rolling  in,  and  there 
appear  to  be  six  or  seven  large  islands;  but  we  cannot  be 
certain  about  this  number  until  we  reach  the  south  shore. 
From  this  point  we  cannot  tell  whether  the  wooded  hills 
before  us  are  islands  or  promontories.  On  the  shore  are  to 
be  found  large  numbers  of  carnelians  or  crystallized  quartz, 
agates,  specimens  of  petrified  wood,  and  lava  pebbles  or 
globules.  We  have  found  also  many  curious  objects  of  slate 
formation,  resembling  hollowed-out  cups,  discs,  and  two 
well  formed  resemblances  of  a  leg  and  foot,  and  many 
other  curious  objects  which  Nature  in  her  most  capricious 
mood  has  scattered  over  this  watery  solitude.  All  these 
seem  to  be  the  joint  production  of  fire  and  water;  the  fire 
forming  and  baking  them,  and  the  water  polishing  them. 
We  called  this  place  ^^Curiosity  Point." 

If  Mount  Washington  were  set  in  the  lake,  its  summit 
would  be  two  thousand  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 

To-night  a  conference  of  the  party  was  held,  to  decide 
whether  we  would  continue  our  journey  around  the  lake,  or 
retrace  our  steps  and  pass  along  the  north  side  of  the  lake 
over  to  the  Madison.  By  a  vote  of  six  to  three  we  have  de- 
cided to  go  around  the  lake.  Mr.  Hauser  voted  in  favor  of 
returning  by  way  of  the  north  side.  My  vote  was  cast  for 
going  around  the  lake. 

As  we  passed  along  the  shore  to-day,  we  could  see  the 
steam  rising  from  a  large  group  of  hot  springs  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  lake  bordering  on  what  seems  to  be 
the  most  westerly  bay  or  estuary.*  We  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  examine  them  at  short  range,  when  we  have  com- 
pleted our  journey  around  the  lake. 


♦The  bay  here  referred  to  is  at  the  "Thutnb"  Station. 


56       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

Tuesday,  September  G. — We  broke  camp  at  ten  thirty 
this  morning,  bearing  well  to  the  south-east  for  an  hour  and 
then  turning  nearly  due  south,  our  trail  running  through 
the  woods,  and  for  a  large  part  of  our  route  throughout 
the  day,  through  fallen  timber,  which  greatly  impeded  our 
progress.  We  did  not  make  over  ten  miles  in  our  day's 
travel.  Frequently  we  were  obliged  to  leave  the  trail  run- 
ning through  the  woods,  and  return  to  the  lake,  and  fol- 
low the  beach  for  some  distance.  We  passed  along  the  base 
of  a  brimstone  basin,  the  mountains  forming  a  semi-circle 
half  way  around  it,  the  lake  completing  the  circle.  In  com- 
pany with  Lieutenant  Doane  I  went  up  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  which  for  the  distance  of  three  or  four  miles 
and  about  half  way  to  the  summit  is  covered  with  what  ap- 
pears to  be  sulphate  (?)  of  lime  and  flowers  of  sulphur 
mixed.  Exhalations  are  rising  from  all  parts  of  the  ground 
at  times,  the  odor  of  brimstone  being  quite  strong ;  but  the 
volcanic  action  in  this  vicinity  is  evidently  decreasing. 

About  half  way  up  the  deposit  on  the  mountain  side  a 
number  of  small  rivulets  take  their  rise,  having  sulphur  in 
solution,  and  farther  down  the  mountain  and  near  the  base 
are  the  dry  beds  of  several  streams  from  ten  to  twenty  feet 
in  width,  which  bear  evidence  of  having  at  some  time  been 
full  to  the  banks  (two  or  three  feet  deep)  with  sulphur 
water.    The  small  streams  now  running  are  warm. 

The  side  of  the  mountain  over  which  we  rode,  seems  for 
the  most  part  to  be  hollow,  giving  forth  a  rumbling  sound 
beneath  the  feet,  as  we  rode  upon  the  crust,  which  is  very 
strong.  In  no  instance  did  it  give  way  as  did  the  crust  at 
"Crater  hill,"  under  which  the  fires  were  raging,  though 
the  incrustation  appears  to  be  very  similar,  abounding  in 
vents  and  fissures  and  emitting  suffocating  exhalations  of 
sulphur  vapor.  • 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.        57 

On  the  sides  of  the  mountain  were  old  fissures,  surrounded 
by  rusty  looking  sulphur  incrustations,  now  nearly  washed 
away.  The  whole  mountain  gives  evidence  of  having  been, 
a  long  time  ago,  in  just  the  same  condition  of  conflagra- 
tion as  that  in  which  we  found  "Crater  hill;"  but  all  out- 
ward trace  of  fire  has  now  disappeared,  save  what  is  found 
in  the  warm  water  of  the  small  streams  running  down  the 
sides. 

Our  course  for  the  past  two  days  has  been  in  nearly  a 
south-southeast  direction,  or  about  parallel  with  the  Wind 
river  mountains.  We  have  today  seen  an  abundance  of  the 
tracks  of  elk  and  bears,  and  occasionally  the  track  of  a 
mountain  lion. 

Wednesday,  September  7. — Last  night  when  all  but  the 
guards  were  asleep,  we  were  startled  by  a  mountain  lion-s 
shrill  scream,  sounding  so  like  the  human  voice  that  for  a 
moment  I  was  deceived  by  it  into  believing  that  some  trav- 
eler in  distress  was  hailing  our  camp.  The  stream  near  the 
bank  of  which  our  camp  lay,  flows  into  the  southeast  arm  of 
Yellowstone  lake,  and  for  which  the  name  "Upper  Y^ellow- 
stone"  has  been  suggested  by  some  of  our  party;  but  Lieu- 
tenant Doane  says  that  he  thinks  he  has  seen  on  an  old  map 
the  name  "Bridger"  given  to  some  body  of  water  near  the 
Yellowstone.  We  tried  to  cross  the  river  near  its  mouth, 
but  found  the  mud  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  and  in  the  bot- 
tom lands  adjoining  too  deep;  our  horses  miring  down  to 
their  bellies.  In  accordance  with  plans  agreed  upon  last 
night.  General  Washburn  and  a  few  of  the  party  started  out 
this  morning  in  advance  of  the  others  to  search  for  a  practi- 
cable crossing  of  the  river  and  marshes,  leaving  the  pack 
train  in  camp. 

In  company  with  Lieutenant  Doane  I  went  out  upon  a 
reconnaissance  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  mountains  opposite  our  camp,  as  well   as   the 


58       Wasiibuiin  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

shape  of  the  lake  as  far  as  we  could  see  the  shore,  and  also 
to  determine  as  far  as  possible  our  locality  and  the  best 
line  of  travel  to  follow  in  passing  around  the  lake.  There 
is  just  enough  excitement  attending  these  scouting  expedi- 
tions to  make  them  a  real  pleasure,  overbalancing  the  labor 
attendant  upon  them.  There  is  very  little  probability  that 
any  large  band  of  Indians  will  be  met  with  on  this  side  of 
the  lake,  owing  to  the  superstitions  which  originate  in  the 
volcanic  forces  here  found. 

We  followed  along  the  high  bank  adjacent  to  the  bottom 
through  which  the  river  runs  in  a  direction  a  little  south 
of  east  for  the  distance  of  about  three  miles,  when  we  en- 
tered a  heavily  timbered  ravine,  which  we  followed  through 
the  underbrush  for  some  three  miles,  being  frequently 
obliged  to  dismount  and  lead  our  horses  over  the  projecting 
rocks,  or  plunging  through  bushes  and  fallen  timber.  At 
the  end  of  two  hours  we  reached  a  point  in  the  ascent 
where  we  could  no  longer  ride  in  safety,  nor  could  our 
horses  climb  the  mountain  side  with  the  w^eight  of  our  bod- 
ies on  their  backs.  Dismounting,  we  took  the  bridle  reins 
in  our  hands,  and  for  the  space  of  an  hour  we  led  our  horses 
up  the  steep  mountain  side,  when  we  again  mounted  and 
slowly  climbed  on  our  way,  occasionally  stopping  to  give 
our  horses  a  chance  to  breathe.  Arriving  at  the  limit  of 
timber  and  of  vegetation,  we  tied  our  horses,  and  then  com- 
menced the  ascent  of  the  steepest  part  of  the  mountain, 
over  the  broken  granite,  great  care  being  necessary  to  avoid 
sliding  down  the  mountain  side  with  the  loose  granite. 
The  ascent  occupied  us  a  little  more  than  four  hours,  and 
all  along  the  mountain  side,  even  to  near  the  summit,  we 
saw  the  tracks  of  mountain  sheep.  The  view  from  the  sum- 
mit of  this  mountain,  for  wild  and  rugged  grandeur,  is  sur- 
passed by  none  I  ever  before  saw.  The  Yellowstone  basin 
and  the  Wind  river  mountains  were  spread  out  before  us 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        59 

like  a  map.  On  the  south  the  eye  followed  the  source  of 
the  Yellowstone  above  the  lake,  until,  twenty-five  miles 
away,  it  was  lost  in  an  immense  canon,  beyond  which  two 
immense  jets  of  vapor  rose  to  a  height  of  probably  three 
hundred  feet,  indicating  that  there  were  other  and  perhaps 
greater  wonders  than  those  embraced  in  our  prescribed 
limit  of  exploration.  On  the  north  the  outlet  of  the  lake 
and  the  steam  from  the  mud  geyser  and  mud  volcano  were 
distinctly  visible,  while  on  the  southeast  the  view  followed 
to  the  horizon  a  succession  of  lofty  peaks  and  ridges  at  least 
thirty  miles  in  width,  whose  jagged  slopes  were  filled  with 
yawning  caverns,  pine-embowered  recesses  and  beetling 
precipices,  some  hundreds  and  some  thousands  of  feet  in 
height.  This  is  the  range  which  Captain  Raynolds,  ap- 
proaching from  the  east,  found  impassable  while  on  his  ex- 
ploring tour  to  the  Yellowstone  in  the  year  1860.  I  shall, 
upon  my  return  home,  read  Captain  Raynolds'  report  with 
renewed  interest.* 

The  mountain  on  which  we  stood  was  the  most  westerly 
peak  of  a  range  which,  in  long  extended  volume,  swept  to 
the  southeastern  horizon,  exhibiting  a  continuous  elevation 


♦Captain  Raynolds  wrote  on  May  10,  1860:  "To  our  front  and 
upon  the  right  the  mountains  towered  above  us  to  the  height  of 
from  2,000  to  3,000  feet  in  the  shape  of  bold,  craggy  peaks  of 
basaltic  formation,  their  summits  crowned  with  glistening  snow. 
*  *  *  *  It  was  my  original  desire  to  go  from  the  head  of  Wind 
river  to  the  head  of  the  Yellowstone,  keeping  on  the  Atlantic  slope, 
thence  down  the  Yellowstone,  passing  the  lake  ,and  across  by  the 
Gallatin  to  the  Three  forks  of  the  Missouri.  B'ridger  said,  at  the 
outset,  that  this  would  be  impossible,  and  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  pass  over  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Columbia,  and  back 
again  to  the  Yellowstone.  I  had  not  previously  believed  that  cross- 
ing the  main  crest  twice  would  be  more  easily  accomplished  than 
the  travel  over  what  in  effect  is  only  a  spur;  but  the  view  from  our 
present  camp  settled  the  question  adversely  to  my  opinion  at  once. 
Directly  across  our  route  lies  a  basaltic  ridge,  rising  not  less  than 
5,000  feet  above  us,  the  walls  apparently  vertical,  with  no  visible 
pass  nor  even  caiion.  On  the  opposite  side  of  this  are  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yellowstone." 


60        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

more  than  thirty  miles  in  width,  its  central  line  broken  into 
countless  points,  knobs,  glens  and  defiles,  all  on  the  most 
colossal  scale  of  grandeur  and  magnificence.  Outside  of  these, 
on  either  border,  along  the  entire  range,  lofty  peaks  rose 
at  intervals,  seemingly  vying  with  each  other  in  the  varied 
splendors  they  presented  to  the  beholder.  The  scene  was 
full  of  majesty.  The  valley  at  the  base  of  this  range  was 
dotted  with  small  lakes.  Lakes  abound  everywhere — in  the 
valleys,  on  the  mountains  and  farther  down  on  their  slopes, 
at  all  elevations.  The  appearance  of  the  whole  range  was 
suggestive  of  the  existence,  ages  since,  of  a  high  plateau  on 
a  level  with  these  peaks  (which  seemed  to  be  all  of  the  same 
elevation),  which  by  the  action  of  the  water  had  been  cut 
down  in  the  intervals  between  the  peaks  into  deep  gorges 
and  canons.  The  sides  of  the  mountains  formed  in  many 
places  a  perpendicular  wall  from  600  to  1,000  feet  in  height. 

This  range  of  mountains  has  a  marvelous  history.  As  it 
is  the  loftiest,  so  it  is  probably  the  most  remarkable  lateral 
ridge  of  the  Rocky  range.  In  the  expedition  sent  across  the 
continent  by  Mr.  Astor,  in  1811,  under  command  of  Captain 
Wilson  P.  Hunt,  that  gentleman  met  with  the  first  serious 
obstacle  to  his  progress  at  the  eastern  base  of  this  range. 
After  numerous  efforts  to  scale  it,  he  turned  away  and  fol- 
lowed the  valley  of  Snake  river,  encountering  the  most  dis- 
couraging disasters  until  he  arrived  at  Astoria.* 

I  have  read  somewhere  (I  think  in  Washington  Irving's 
"Astoria"  or  "Bonneville's  Adventures")  that  the  Indians 


♦Later,  in  1833,  the  indomitable  Captain  Bonneville  was  lost  in 
this  mountain  labyrinth,  and,  after  devising  various  modes  of  es- 
cape, finally  determined  to  ascend  the  range. 

Washington  Irving,  in  his  charming  history,  "Bonneville's  Ad- 
ventures," thus  describes  the  efforts  of  General  Bonneville  and  one 
of  his  comrades  to  reach  the  summit  of  this  range: 

"After  much  toil  he  reached  the  summit  of  a  lofty  cliff,  but  it 
was  only  to  behold  gigantic  peaks  rising  all  around,  and  towering 
far  into  the  snowy  regions  of  the  atmosphere.    He  soon  found  that 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       61 

regard  this  ridge  of  mountains  as  the  crest  of  the  world, 
and  that  among  the  Blackfeet  there  is  a  fable  that  he  who 
attains  its  summit  catches  a  view  of  the  "Land  of  Souls" 
and  beholds  the  "Happy  Hunting  Grounds"  spread  out  be- 
low him,  brightening  with  the  abodes  of  the  free  and  gen- 
erous spirits. 

Lieutenant  Doane  and  I  were  somewhat  fatigued  with 
our  climb  of  four  hours'  duration,  and  we  refreshed  our- 
selves with  such  creature  comforts  as  we  found  on  the  sum- 
mit; but,  although  we  attained  the  "crest,"  we  did  not  dis- 
cern any  "free  and  generous  spirit,"  save  that  which  we 
saw  "through  a  glass  darkly." 

At  the  point  where  we  left  our  horses  there  was,  on  the 
east  slope  of  the  mountain,  a  body  of  snow,  the  surface  of 
which  was  nearly  horizontal,  and  the  outer  edge  of  which 
was  thirty  feet  in  perpendicular  height.  This  body  of  snow 
is  perpetual.  At  this  point  the  elevation,  as  indicated  by 
our  aneroid  barometer,  was  9,476  feet,  while  at  the  summit 
it  was  10,327  feet,  a  difference  of  581  feet,  which  was  the 
broken  granite  summit. 

The  descent  occupied  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  when  we 
struck  the  trail  of  the  pack  train  near  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  which  we  followed  until  we  found  three  poles 
placed  in  the  form  of  a  tripod,  the  longer  pole  pointing  to 


he  had  undertaken  a  tremendous  task;  but  the  pride  of  man  is 
never  more  obstinate  than  when  climbing  mountains.  The  ascent 
was  so  steep  and  rugged  that  he  and  his  companion  were  frequently 
obliged  to  clamber  on  haads  and  knees,  with  their  guns  slung  upon 
their  backs.  Frequently,  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  dripping  with 
perspiration,  they  threw  themselves  upon  the  snow,  and  took  hand- 
fuls  of  it  to  allay  their  parching  thirst.  At  one  place  they  even 
stripped  off  their  coats  and  hung  them  upon  the  bushes,  and  thus 
lightly  clad  proceeded  to  scramble  over  these  eternal  snows.  As 
they  ascended  still  higher  there  were  cool  breezes  that  refreshed 
and  braced  them,  and,  springing  with  new  ardor  to  their  task,  they 
at  length  attained  the  summit." 


62       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

the   right   to   indicate   that   at   this  point   the   party   had 
changed  its  course. 


Obeying  this  Indian  sign,  we  descended  the  bank  border- 
ing the  valley  and  traversed  the  bottom  lands  to  the  river, 
which  we  forded  at  a  point  where  it  was  about  ninety  feet 
wide  and  three  feet  deep,  with  a  current  of  about  six  miles 
an  hour.  This  was  about  six  or  seven  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  river.  We  followed  the  trail  of  the  advance  party 
through  a  beautiful  pine  forest,  free  from  underbrush,  for 
the  distance  of  two  miles,  passing  two  beautiful  lakes.  By 
this  time  night  had  overtaken  us,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  we  could  follow  the  trail,  the  tracks  of  the  horses' 
shoes,  which  were  our  sole. guide,  being  hardly  discernible. 
But  we  pressed  on,  following  the  dark,  serpentine  line  of 
freshly  disturbed  earth  till  it  turned  up  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  where  we  followed  it  for  upwards  of  a  mile. 
Fearing  lest  we  were  not  upon  the  right  trail,  we  dismount- 
ed, and,  placing  our  faces  close  to  the  ground,  examined  it 
carefully,  but  could  not  discover  the  impression  of  a  single 
horseshoe.  Gathering  a  few  dry  branches  of  pine,  we  kin- 
dled a  fire  upon  the  trail,  when  we  discovered  that  we  had 
been  following,  from  the  base  of  the  mountain,  the  trail  of 
a  band  of  elk  that  had  crossed  the  line  of  travel  of  the  pack 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 


63 


train  at  a  point  near  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  in  the 
dim  twilight  we  had  not  discovered  the  mistake. 

The  prospect  for  a  night  on  the  mountain,  without  blank- 
ets or  supper,  seemed  now  very  good;  but  we  retraced  our 


MAP  OF  YELLOWSTONE  LAKE, 

As  known  between  1860  and  1870. 

From  the  map  of 

Kaynolds'  Expedition  of  1860. 


steps  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  on  reaching  the  base  of 
the  mountain,  struck  out  for  the  lake,  resolving  to  follow 
the  beach,  trusting  that  our  party  had  made  their  camp  on 


64 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 


•^t-AnPoP^icfT-Sr^ 


J 


MAP  OF  YELLOWSTONE  LAKE. 

Copy  of 

the  original  outline  sketched  by 

Nathaniel  P.  Langford 

from  the  top  of  Mount  Langford,  Sept.  7,  1870, 

and  completed  Sept.  10  and  13. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        65 

the  shore  of  the  lake,  in  which  case  we  should  find  them; 
but  if  camped  at  any  considerable  distance  from  the  shore, 
we  should  not  find  them.  Our  ride  over  fallen  timber  and 
through  morass  for  the  distance  of  about  two  miles  to  the 
shore  of  the  lake  was  probably  performed  more  skillfully 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night  than  if  we  had  seen  the  ob- 
stacles in  our  path,  and  as  we  rounded  a  point  on  the  smooth 
beach  we  saw  at  a  distance  of  a  little  over  a  mile  the  wel- 
come watch  fire  of  our  comrades.  When  we  arrived  within 
hailing  distance  we  gave  a  loud  halloo,  and  the  ready  re- 
sponse by  a  dozen  sympathetic  voices  of  our  companions-in- 
arms showed  that  our  own  anxiety  had  been  shared  by 
them.  Our  camp  to-night  is  on  the  westerly  side  of  the 
most  southeasterly  bay  of  the  lake.  These  bays  are  sepa- 
rated by  long  points  of  land  extending  far  out  into  the  lake. 
From  our  camp  of  two  days  ago  some  of  these  points  seemed 
to  be  islands.  From  the  top  of  the  mountain,  which  Doane 
and  I  ascended  to-day,  I  made  an  outline  map  of  the  north 
and  east  sides  of  the  lake  and  part  of  the  south  side;  but 
on  account  of  the  heavy  timber  on  the  promontories  I  could 
not  make  a  correct  outline  of  the  south  and  west  shores. 
General  Washburn  and  Hauser,  as  well  as  myself,  have  thus 
far  made  outlines  of  the  lake  shore  as  best  we  could  from 
points  on  a  level  with  the  lake,  but  these  have  been  unsatis- 
factory and  have  lacked  completeness,  and  Washburn  and 
Hauser  have  both  expressed  their  satisfaction  with  the 
sketch  of  the  lake  shore  I  made  to-day  from  the  top  of  the 
mountain ;  and  Washburn  has  just  told  me  that  Lieutenant 
Doane  has  suggested  that,  as  I  was  the  first  to  reach  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  the  peak  should  be  named  for  me. 
I  shall  be  gratified  if  this  is  done.* 


♦Soon  after  the  return  of  our  party  to  Helena,  General  Wash- 
burn, then  surveyor-general  of  Montana,  made  in  his  office  for  the 
Interior   Department    at   Washington,    a    map    of   the    Yellowstone 


66       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

We  have  traveled  from  our  morning  camp  about  twelve 
miles,  but  we  are  not  more  than  four  miles  from  it  in  a 
straight  line. 

Thursday,  September  8. — Travel  to-day  has  led  us  in  zig- 
zag directions  over  fallen  timber  some  twelve  miles. 
We  have  halted  on  a  small  creek  about  one  mile  from  the 
most  southerly  arm  of  the  lake  and  about  seven  miles  in  a 
straight  line  from  our  morning  camp. 

This  has  been  a  terrible  day  for  both  men  and  horses.  The 
standing  trees  are  so  thick  that  we  often  found  it  impossible 


region,  a  copy  of  which  he  gave  to  me.  He  told  me  that  in  recog- 
nition of  the  assistance  1  had  rendered  him  in  making  a  fair  outline 
of  Yellowstone  lake,  with  its  indented  shore  and  promontories,  he 
had  named  for  me  the  mountain  on  the  top  of  which  I  stood  when 
I  made  the  sketch  of  the  south  shore  of  the  lake.  I  called  his 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Lieutenant  Doane  had  been  my  comrade 
in  making  the  ascent,  and  suggested  that  Doane's  name  be  given 
to  the  adjoining  peak  on  the  north.  He  approved  of  this  suggestion, 
and  the  map,  with  these  mountains  so  named,  was  transmitted  to 
the  Interior  Department. 

Dr.  Hayden,  the  geologist  in  charge  of  the  United  States  geo- 
logical survey,  made  his  first  visit  to  this  region  the  following  year 
(1871),  and  on  the  map  which  he  issued  in  connection  with  his  1871 
report,  the  name  "Mount  Langford"  was  given  to  another  mountain 
far  to  the  northeast.  Since  that  time  my  name  has  again  been 
transferred  to  a  mountain  on  the  southeast.  I  think  that  Dr.  Hayden 
must  have  been  av/are  at  that  time  that  this  mountain  bore  my 
name;  for  he  had  read  the  account  of  the  Washburn  exploration, 
which  was  published  in  Scribner's  Magazine  for  May,  1871,  accom- 
panied by  a  copy  of  the  map  made  by  General  Washburn. 

The  significance  of  connecting  my  name  with  this  mountain  is 
centered  in  the  circumstance  that  it  was  intended  to  mark  or  com- 
memorate an  important  event — that  of  giving  to  the  public  a  very 
correct  outline  map  of  Yellowstone  lake.  In  confirmation  of  the 
fact  that  the  first  outline  of  the  lake  approximating  any  degree  of 
accuracy  was  made  from  the  mountain-top,  I  here  quote  from 
page  21  of  Lieutenant  Doane's  report  to  the  War  Department. 

"The  view  from  this  peak  commanded  completely  the  lake,  en- 
abling us  to  sketch  a  map  of  its  inlets  and  bearings  with  consid- 
erable accuracy." 

On  page  23  of  this  report  Lieutenant  Doane  speaks  of  this  moun- 
tain as  "Mount  Langford."  The  map  last  published  previous  to 
that  made  by  General  Washburn  was  that  of  Captain  Raynolds,  of 
which  I  here  present  a  copy,  as  well  as  a  copy  of  the  map  made 
by  me. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        67 

to  find  a  space  wide  enough  for  the  pack  animals  to  squeeze 
through,  and  we  were  frequently  separated  from  each  other 
in  a  search  for  a  route.  Hedges  and  Stickney,  in  this  way, 
became  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  after  suf- 
fering all  the  feelings  of  desolation  at  being  lost  in  this 
wilderness,  accidentally  stumbled  upon  our  camp,  and  they 
freely  expressed  their  joy  at  their  good  fortune  in  being 
restored  to  the  party.  I  fully  sympathized  with  them,  for, 
speaking  from  a  personal  experience  of  a  similar  character 
which  I  had  in  1802,  I  can  say  that  a  man  can  have  no  more 
complete  sense  of  utter  desolation  than  that  which  over- 
whelms him  when  he  realizes  that  he  is  lost. 

At  one  point  while  they  were  seeking  some  sign  of  the 
trail  made  by  the  rest  of  the  party,  a  huge  grizzly  bear 
dashed  by  them,  frightening  Hedges'  horse,  which  broke  his 
bridle  and  ran  away. 

After  supper  Washburn  and  Hauser  went  up  on  the  ridge 
back  of  the  camp  to  reconnoiter  and  ran  across  a  she  grizzly 
and  her  two  cubs.  Being  unarmed,  they  hastily  returned 
to  camp  for  their  guns,  and  five  or  six  of  us  joined  them  in 
a  bear  hunt.  The  members  of  this  hunting  party  were  all 
elated  at  the  thought  of  bagging  a  fine  grizzly,  which  seemed 
an  easy  prey.  What  could  one  grizzly  do  against  six  hunt- 
ers when  her  instinctive  duty  would  lead  her  to  hurry  her 
little  ones  to  a  place  of  safety  I 

While  putting  our  guns  in  order  and  making  other  prepa- 
rations for  the  attack,  an  animated  discussion  took  place 
concerning  a  proper  disposition  of  the  two  cubs  which  were 
to  be  captured  alive.  Some  of  our  party  thought  that  they 
ought  to  be  carried  home  to  Helena,  but  Bean  and  Reynolds, 
our  packers,  being  appealed  to,  thought  the  plan  not  feasible 
unless  they  could  be  utilized  as  pack  animals.  When  we 
reached  the  spot  where  Washburn  and  Hauser  had  last  seen 
the  bear,  we  traced  her  into  a  dense  thicket,  which,  owing  to 


G8        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

the  darkness,  we  did  not  care  to  penetrate,  for  not  one  of  us 
felt  that  we  had  lost  that  particular  bear.  Jake  Smith, 
with  more  of  good  sense  than  usual,  but  with  his  usual  lack 
of  scriptural  accuracy,  remarked,  "I  always  considered  Dan- 
iel a  great  fool  to  go  into  a  den  of  bears."* 

Our  journey  for  the  entire  day  has  been  most  trying,  lead- 
ing us  through  a  trackless  forest  of  pines  encumbered  on 
all  sides  by  prostrate  trunks  of  trees.  The  difficulty  of  urg- 
ing forward  our  pack  train,  making  choice  of  routes,  extri- 
cating the  horses  when  wedged  between  the  trees,  and  re-ad- 
justing the  packs  so  that  they  would  not  project  beyond  the 


*0n  our  return  to  Helena,  Walter  Trumbull  published,  in  the 
Helena  Gazette,  some  incidents  of  our  trip,  and  from  his  narrative 
I  copy  the  following  account  of  our  hunt  for  the  grizzly: 

"Some  of  the  party  who  had  gone  a  short  distance  ahead  to  find 
out  the  best  course  to  take  the  next  day,  soon  returned  and  report- 
ed a  grizzly  and  her  two  cubs  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  camp. 
Six  of  the  party  decorated  themselves  as  walking  armories,  and  at 
once  started  in  pursuit.  Each  individual  was  sandwiched  between 
two  revolvers  and  a  knife,  was  supported  around  the  middle  by  a 
belt  of  cartridges,  and  carried  in  his  hand  a  needle  carbine.  Each 
one  was  particularly  anxious  to  be  the  first  to  catch  the  bear,  and 
an  exciting  foot-race  ensued  until  the  party  got  within  300  yards  of 
the  place  where  the  bear  was  supposed  to  be  concealed.  The  fore- 
most man  then  suddenly  got  out  of  breath,  and,  in  fact,  they  all  got 
out  of  breath.  It  was  an  epidemic.  A  halt  was  made,  and  the 
brute  loudly  dared  to  come  out  and  show  itself,  while  a  spirited 
discussion  took  place  as  to  what  was  best  to  do  with  the  cubs.  The 
location  was  a  mountain  side,  thickly  timbered  with  tall  straight 
pines  having  no  limbs  within  thirty  feet  of  the  ground.  It  was 
decided  to  advance  more  cautiously  to  avoid  frightening  the  animal, 
and  every  tree  which  there  was  any  chance  of  climbing  was  watched 
with  religious  care,  in  order  to  intercept  her  should  she  attempt  to 
take  refuge  in  its  branches.  An  hour  was  passed  in  vain  search 
for  the  sneaking  beast,  which  had  evidently  taken  to  flight.  Then 
this  formidable  war  party  returned  to  camp,  having  a  big  disgust 
at  the  cowardly  conduct  of  the  bear,  but,  as  the  darkle  said,  'not 
having  it  bad.'  Just  before  getting  in  sight  of  camp,  the  six  invinci- 
bles  discharged  their  firearms  simultaneously,  in  order  to  show 
those  remaining  behind  just  how  they  would  have  slaughtered  the 
bear,  but  more  particularly  just  how  they  did  not.  This  was  called 
the  'Bear  Camp.'  " 

Mr.  Trumbull  was  one  of  the  party  of  hunters  whose  efforts  to 
capture  the  bear  he  so  well  describes. 


^^^'  0^^;^,/^^^ 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.       G9 

sides  of  the  horses,  required  constant  patience  and  untiring 
toil,  and  the  struggle  between  our  own  docility  and  the  obsta- 
cles in  our  way,  not  unfrequently  resulted  in  fits  of  sullen- 
ness  or  explosions  of  wrath  which  bore  no  slight  resem- 
blance to  the  volcanic  forces  of  the  country  itself. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  when  we  were  in  a  vast  net  of 
down  timber  and  brush,  and  each  man  was  insisting  upon 
his  own  particular  mode  of  extrication,  and  when  our  tem- 
pers had  been  sorely  tried  and  we  were  in  the  most  unsocial 
of  humors,  speaking  only  in  half  angry  expletives,  I  re- 
called that  beautiful  line  in  Byron's  "Childe  Harold," 
"There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods,"  which  I  re- 
cited with  all  the  "ore  rotundo"  I  could  command,  which 
struck  the  ludicrous  vein  of  the  company  and  produced  an 
instantaneous  response  of  uproarious  laughter,  which,  so 
sudden  is  the  transition  between  extremes,  had  the  effect 
to  restore  harmony  and  sociability,  and,  in  fact,  to  create  a 
pleasure  in  the  pathless  wilderness  we  were  traveling. 

One  of  our  pack  horses  is  at  once  a  source  of  anxiety 
and  amusement  to  us  all.  He  is  a  remarkable  animal  owned 
by  Judge  Hedges,  who,  however,  makes  no  pretentions  to 
being  a  good  judge  of  horses.  Mr.  Hedges  says  that  the 
man  from  whom  he  purchased  the  animal,  in  descanting 
upon  his  many  excellent  qualities,  said:  "He  is  that  kind 
of  an  animal  that  drives  the  whole  herd  before  him."  The 
man  spoke  truly,  but  Mr.  Hedges  did  not  properly  interpret 
the  encomium,  nor  did  he  realize  that  the  seller  meant  to 
declare  that  the  animal,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  would 
always  be  lagging  behind  the  others  of  the  herd.  From  the 
start,  and  especially  during  our  journey  through  the  forest, 
this  pony,  by  his  acrobatic  performances  and  mishaps,  has 
furnished  much  amusement  for  us  all.  Progress  to-day 
could  only  be  accomplished  by  leaping  our  animals  over  the 
fallen  trunks  of  trees.     Our    little    broncho,  with  all    the 


70 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 


spirit  necessary,  lacks  oftentimes  the  power  to  scale  the 
tree  trunks.  As  a  consequence,  he  is  frequently  found 
resting  upon  his  midriff  with  his  fore  and  hind  feet  sus- 
pended over  the  opposite  sides  of  some  huge  log.  ^'The  spirit 


LITTLE  INVULNERABLE. 


indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak."  He  has  an  am- 
bitious spirit,  which  is  exceeded  only  by  his  patience.  He 
has  had  many  mishaps,  any  one  of  which  would  have  per- 
manently disabled  a  larger  animal,  and  we  have  dubbed  him 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       71 

"Little  Invulnerable."  One  of  the  soldiers  of  our  escort, 
Private  Moore,  has  made  a  sketch  of  him  as  he  appeared 
to-day  lying  across  a  log,  of  which  I  am  to  have  a  copy. 

I  growled  at  Hauser  and  scolded  him  a  little  in  camp  to- 
night because  of  some  exasperating  action  of  his.  I  here 
record  the  fact  without  going  into  details.  I  think  that  I 
must  try  to  be  more  patient.  But  I  am  feeling  somewhat 
the  fatigue  of  our  journey.  However,  there  is  something  to 
be  said  on  the  other  hand,  and  that  is  that  there  is  no  one 
of  the  party  better  able  to  bear  its  labors  and  anxieties  than 
I,  and  therefore  I  should  be  the  last  man  to  lose  my  patience. 

I  know  of  nothing  that  can  try  one's  patience  more  than 
a  trip  of  any  considerable  length  by  wagon  train  or  pack 
train  through  an  uninhabited  region,  and  the  most  amiable 
of  our  race  cannot  pass  this  ordeal  entirely  unscathed. 
Persons  who  are  not  blessed  with  uncommon  equanimity 
never  get  through  such  a  journey  without  frequent  explo- 
sions of  temper,  and  seldom  without  violence.  Even  educa- 
tion, gentle  training  and  the  sharpest  of  mental  discipline 
do  not  always  so  effectually  subdue  the  passions  that  they 
may  not  be  aroused  into  unwonted  fury  during  a  long  jour- 
ney through  a  country  filled  with  obstructions.  Philosophy 
has  never  found  a  fitter  subject  for  its  exercise  than  that 
afforded  by  the  journey  we  are  now  making,  which  obliges 
the  members  of  our  party  to  strive  to  relieve  each  other's 
burdens. 

Friday,  September  9. — Last  night  there  occurred  an  inci- 
dent which  I  would  gladly  blot  from  these  pages,  but  a  faith- 
ful record  of  all  the  events  of  camp  life  in  connection  with 
this  expedition  demands  that  I  omit  nothing  of  interest,  nor 
set  down  "aught  in  malice." 

Mr.  Hedges  and  I  were  on  guard  during  the  last  relief  of 
the  night,  which  extends  from  the  "Wee  sma'  hours  ayont 
the  twal"  to  daybreak.     The  night  was  wearing  on  when 


72        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

Hedges,  being  tempted  of  one  of  the  Devils  which  doubtless 
roam  around  this  sulphurous  region,  or  that  perhaps  fol- 
lowed Lieutenant  Doane  and  myself  down  from  that  "high 
mountain  apart"  where  the  spirits  roam,  asked  me  if  I  was 
hungry.  I  replied  that  such  had  been  my  normal  condition 
ever  since  our  larder  had  perceptibly  declined.  Mr.  Hedges 
then  suggested  that,  as  there  was  no  food  already  cooked  in 
the  camp,  we  take  each  a  wing  of  one  of  the  partridges  and 
broil  it  over  our  small  tire.  It  was  a  "beautiful  thought," 
as  Judge  Bradford  of  Colorado  used  to  say  from  the  bench 
when  some  knotty  legal  problem  relating  to  a  case  he  was 
trying  had  been  solved,  and  was  speedily  acted  upon  by  both 
of  us.  But  I  was  disappointed  in  finding  so  little  meat  on 
a  partridge  wing,  and  believed  that  Hedges  would  have 
chosen  a  leg  instead  of  a  wing,  if  he  had  pondered  a  mo- 
ment, so  I  remedied  the  omission,  and,  as  a  result,  each 
roasted  a  leg  of  the  bird.  Soon  increase  of  appetite  grew 
by  what  it  fed  on,  and  the  breast  of  the  bird  was  soon  on 
the  broiler. 

In  the  meantime  our  consciences  were  not  idle,  and  we 
were  "pricked  in  our  hearts."  The  result  was  that  we  had 
a  vision  of  the  disappointment  of  our  comrades,  as  each 
should  receive  at  our  morning  breakfast  his  small  allotment 
of  but  one  partridge  distributed  among  so  many,  and  it  did 
not  take  us  long  to  send  the  remaining  bird  to  join  its  mate. 
Taking  into  consideration  the  welfare  of  our  comrades,  it 
seemed  the  best  thing  for  us  to  do,  and  we  debated  between 
ourselves  whether  the  birds  would  be  missed  in  the  morn- 
ing. Hedges  taking  the  affirmative  and  I  the  negative  side 
of  the  question. 

This  morning  when  our  breakfast  was  well  nigh  finished, 
Mr.  Hauser  asked  "Newt,"  the  head  cook,  why  he  had  not 
prepared  the  partridges  for  breakfast.  "Newt"  answered 
that  when  he  opened  the  pan  this  morning  the  birds  had 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       73 

"done  gone,"  and  he  thought  that  "Booby"  (the  dog)  had 
eaten  them.  Whereupon  Hauser  pelted  the  dog  with  stones 
and  sticks.  Hedges  and  I,  nearly  bursting  with  our  sup- 
pressed laughter,  quietly  exchanged  glances  across  the  table, 
and  the  situation  became  quite  intense  for  us,  as  we  strove 
to  restrain  our  risibles  while  listening  to  the  comments  of 
the  party  on  the  utter  worthlessness  of  "that  dog  Booby." 
Suddenly  the  camp  was  electrified  by  Gillette  asking,  "Who 
was  on  guard  last  night?"  "That's  it,"  said  one.  "That's 
where  the  birds  went,"  said  another.  This  denouement  was 
too  much  for  Hedges  and  myself,  and  amid  uproarious 
laughter  we  made  confession,  and  "Booby"  was  relieved 
from  his  disgrace  and  called  back  into  the  camp,  and  patted 
on  the  head  as  a  "good  dog,"  and  he  has  now  more  friends 
in  camp  than  ever  before. 

Mr.  Hauser,  who  brought  down  the  birds  with  two  well 
directed  shots  with  his  revolver,  made  from  the  back  of  his 
horse  without  halting  the  animal,  had  expected  to  have  a 
dainty  breakfast,  but  he  is  himself  too  fond  of  a  practical 
joke  to  express  any  disappointment,  and  no  one  in  the  party 
is  more  unconcerned  at  the  outcome  than  he.  He  is  a 
philosopher,  and,  as  I  know  from  eight  years'  association 
with  him,  does  not  worry  over  the  evils  which  he  can  rem- 
edy, nor  those  which  he  cannot  remedy.  There  can  be  found 
no  better  man  than  he  for  such  a  trip  as  we  are  making. 

"Booby"  is  taking  more  kindly,  day  by  day,  to  the  buck- 
skin moccasins  which  "Newt"  made  and  tied  on  his  feet  a 
few  days  ago.  When  he  was  first  shod  with  them  he  rebelled 
and  tore  them  off  with  his  teeth,  but  I  think  he  has  discov- 
ered that  they  lessen  his  sufferings,  which  shows  that  he  has 
some  good  dog  sense  left,  and  that  probably  his  name 
"Booby"  is  a  misnomer.  I  think  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
good  in  the  animal.  He  is  ever  on  the  alert  for  unusual 
noises  or  sounds,  and  the  assurance  which  I  have  that  he 


74       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

will  give  the  alarm  in  case  any  thieving  Indians  shall  ap- 
proach our  camp  in  the  night  is  a  great  relief  to  my  anxiety 
lest  some  straggling  band  of  the  Crows  may  "set  us  afoot." 
Jake  Smith  was  on  guard  three  nights  ago,  and  he  was  so 
indifferent  to  the  question  of  safety  from  attack  that  he  en- 


JAKE  SMITH, 

GUARDING    THE    CAMP 
FROM   HOSTILE    INDIAN    ATTACK. 

"REaUIESCAT  IN  PACE." 


joyed  a  comfortable  nap  while  doing  guard  duty,  and  I  have 
asked  our  artist.  Private  Moore,  to  make  for  me  a  sketch 
of  Smith  as  I  found  him  sound  asleep  with  his  saddle  for 
a  pillow.  Jake  might  well  adopt  as  a  motto  suitable  for  his 
guidance  while  doing  guard  duty,  "Requiescat  in  pace." 
Doubtless  Jake  thought,  "Shall  I  not  take  mine  ease  in  mine 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        75 

iDD?"  I  say  thought  for  I  doubt  if  Jake  can  give  a  correct 
verbal  rendering  of  tlie  sentence.  A  few  evenings  ago  he 
jocosely  thought  to  establish,  by  a  quotation  from  Shakes- 
peare, the  unreliability  of  a  member  of  our  party  who  was 
telling  what  seemed  a  "fish  story,"  and  he  clinched  his  argu- 
ment by  adding  that  he  would  apply  to  the  case  the  words 
of  the  immortal  Shakespeare,  "Othello's  reputation's  gone." 
We  broke  camp  this  morning  with  the  pack  train  at  10 
o'clock,  traveling  in  a  westerly  course  for  about  two  miles, 
when  we  gradually  veered  around  to  a  nearly  easterly  direc- 
tion, through  fallen  timber  almost  impassable  in  the  estima- 
tion of  pilgrims,  and  indeed  pretty  severe  on  our  pack 
horses,  for  there  was  no  trail,  and,  while  our  saddle  horses 
with  their  riders  could  manage  to  force  their  way  through 
between  the  trees,  the  packs  on  the  pack  animals  would  fre- 
quently strike  the  trees,  holding  the  animals  fast  or  com- 
pelling them  to  seek  some  other  passage.  Frequently,  we 
were  obliged  to  re-arrange  the  packs  and  narrow  them,  so  as 
to  admit  of  their  passage  between  the  standing  trees.  At 
one  point  the  pack  animals  became  separated,  and  with  the 
riding  animals  of  a  portion  of  the  party  were  confronted 
with  a  prostrate  trunk  of  a  huge  tree,  about  four  feet  in 
diameter,  around  which  it  was  impossible  to  pass  because 
of  the  obstructions  of  fallen  timber.  Yet  pass  it  we  must ; 
and  the  animals,  one  after  another,  were  brought  up  to  the 
log,  their  breasts  touching  it,  when  Williamson  and  I,  the 
two  strongest  men  of  the  party,  on  either  side  of  an  animal, 
stooped  down,  and,  placing  each  a  shoulder  back  of  a  fore 
leg  of  a  horse,  rose  to  an  erect  position,  while  others  of  the 
party  placed  his  fore  feet  over  the  log,  which  he  was  thus 
enabled  to  scale.  In  this  way  we  lifted  fifteen  or  twenty  of 
our  animals  over  the  log. 


76       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

Soon  after  leaving  our  camp  this  morning  our  '^Little  In- 
vulnerable," while  climbing  a  steep  rocky  ascent,  missed 
his  footing  and  turned  three  back  summersaults  down  into 
the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  We  assisted  him  to  his  feet  with- 
out removing  his  pack,  and  he  seemed  none  the  worse  for 
his  adventure,  and  quickly  regained  the  ridge  from  which 
he  had  fallen  and  joined  the  rest  of  the  herd. 

At  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  halted  for  the  day,  hav- 
ing traveled  about  six  miles,  but  our  camp  to-night  is  not 
more  than  three  miles  from  our  morning  camp. 

Mr.  Hedges'  pack  horse,  ^'Little  Invulnerable,"  was  missing 
when  we  camped;  and,  as  I  was  one  of  the  four  men  de- 
tailed for  the  day  to  take  charge  of  the  pack  train,  I  re- 
turned two  miles  on  our  trail  with  the  two  packers,  Key- 
nolds  and  Bean,  in  search  of  him.  We  found  him  wedged 
between  two  trees,  evidently  enjoying  a  rest,  which  he  sorely 
needed  after  his  remarkable  acrobatic  feat  of  the  morning. 
We  are  camped  in  a  basin  not  far  from  the  lake,  which  sur- 
rounds us  on  three  sides — east,  north  and  west.  Mr.  Everts 
has  not  yet  come  into  camp,  and  we  fear  that  he  is  lost. 

About  noon  we  crossed  a  small  stream  that  flows  towards 
the  southwest  arm  of  the  lake,  but  which,  I  think,  is  one  of 
the  headwater  streams  of  Snake  river.  I  think  that  we  have 
crossed  the  main  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  twice  to- 
day. We  have  certainly  crossed  it  once,  and  if  we  have  not 
crossed  it  twice  we  are  now  camped  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  main  divide.  If  the  creek  we  crossed  about  noon  to-day 
continues  to  flow  in  the  direction  it  was  running  at  the  point 
where  we  crossed  it,  it  must  discharge  into  the  southwest 
arm  of  the  lake,  and  it  seems  probable  that  Mr.  Everts  has 
followed  down  this  stream. 

I  have  just  had  a  little  talk  with  Lieutenant  Doane.  He 
thinks  that  our  camp  to-night  is  on  the  Snake  river  side  of 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       77 

the  main  divide,  and  there  are  many  things  that  incline  me 
to  believe  that  he  is  correct  in  his  opinion.* 

Last  night  we  had  a  discussion,  growing  out  of  the  fact 
that  Hedges  and  Stickney,  for  a  brief  time,  were  lost,  for 
the  purpose  of  deciding  what  course  we  would  adopt  in  case 
any  other  member  of  the  party  were  lost,  and  we  agreed 
that  in  such  case  we  would  all  move  on  as  rapidly  as  possi- 
ble to  the  southwest  arm  of  the  lake,  where  there  are  hot 
springs  (the  vapor  of  which  we  noticed  from  our  camp  of 
September  5th),  and  there  remain  until  all  the  party  were 
united.  Everts  thought  a  better  way  for  a  lost  man  would 
be  to  strike  out  nearly  due  west,  hoping  to  reach  the  head- 
waters of  the  Madison  river,  and  follow  that  stream  as  his 
guide  to  the  settlements ;  but  he  finally  abandoned  this  idea 
and  adopted  that  which  has  been  approved  by  the  rest  of  the 
party.  So  if  Mr.  Everts  does  not  come  into  camp  to-night, 
we  will  to-morrow  start  for  the  appointed  rendezvous. 

Saturday,  September  10. — We  broke  camp  about  10 
o'clock  this  morning,  taking  a  course  of  about  ten  degrees 
north  of  west,  traveling  seven  miles,  and  coming  to  camp 
on  the  lake  shore  at  about  five  miles  in  a  direct  line  from 
our  morning  camp  at  half  past  two  p.  m.  No  sign  of  Mr. 
Everts  has  been  seen  to-day,  and  on  our  arrival  in  camp,  Gil- 
lette and  Trumbull  took  the  return  track  upon  the  shore  of 
the  lake,  hoping  to  find  him,  or  discover  some  sign  of  him. 
A  large  fire  was  built  on  a  high  ridge  commanding  all  points 
on  the  beach,  and  we  fired  signal  guns  from  time  to  time 
throughout  the  night. 

Mr.  Hauser  and  I  ascended  a  high  point  overlooking  our 
camp,  and  about  eight  hundred  feet  above  it,  where  from 
the  top  of  a  tall  tree  1  had  a  fairly  good  view  of  the  shore 


*Our  subsequent  journeying  showed  that  Lieutenant  Doane  was 
right  in  his  conjecture. 


78        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

outline  of  the  west  and  south  shores  of  the  lake,  with  all  the 
inlets,  points  and  islands.  We  were  also  enabled  to  mark 
out  our  course  of  travel  which  it  would  be  necessary  to  fol- 
low in  order  to  reach  the  most  southwesterly  arm  of  the 
lake  and  take  advantage  of  openings  in  the  timber  to  facili- 
tate travel.  On  this  high  point  we  built  a  large  fire  which 
could  be  seen  for  many  miles  in  all  directions  by  any  one 
not  under  the  bank  of  the  lake,  and  which  we  hoped  Mr. 
Everts  might  see,  and  so  be  directed  to  our  camp. 

In  going  to  the  summit  we  traveled  several  hundred  feet 
on  a  rocky  ridge  not  wide  enough  for  safe  travel  by  a  man 
on  horseback.  At  an  elevation  of  about  eight  hundred  feet 
above  Yellowstone  lake  we  found  two  small  lakes  nestled  in 
a  deep  recess  in  the  mountain  and  surrounded  by  the  over- 
turned rocks. 

Our  route  to-day  has  been  entirely  through  fallen  timber, 
and  it  has  been  a  hard  day  of  travel  on  our  horses,  necessi- 
tating jumping  over  logs  and  dead  branches  of  trees,  and 
thus  we  have  made  very  slow  progress. 

The  map  of  Yellowstone  lake  which  we  will  be  enabled  to 
complete  from  the  observations  made  to-day  will  show  that 
its  shape  is  very  different  from  that  shown  on  Captain  Ray- 
nolds'  map.     The  lake  has  but  three  islands. 

We  are  more  than  ever  anxious  about  Mr.  Everts.  We 
had  hoped,  this  morning,  to  make  our  camp  to-night  on  the 
southwest  arm  of  the  lake,  but  the  fallen  timber  has  delayed 
us  in  our  travel  and  prevented  our  doing  so.  The  southwest 
arm  of  the  lake  has  been  our  objective  point  for  the  past 
three  days,  and  we  feel  assured  that  Mr.  Everts,  finding  him- 
self lost,  will  press  on  for  that  point,  and,  as  he  will  not  be 
hindered  by  the  care  of  a  pack  train,  he  can  travel  twice  as 
far  in  one  day  as  we  can,  and  we  are  therefore  the  more 
anxious  to  reach  our  destination.  We  have  carefully  con- 
sidered all  the  points  in  the  case,  and  have  unanimously 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       79 

clecided  that  it  will  be  utter  follj  to  remain  in  camp  here, 
and  equally  so  to  have  remained  in  this  morning's  camp,  hop- 
ing that  he  would  overtake  us.  On  the  evening  that  Mr. 
Hedges  was  lost,  Mr.  Everts  told  him  that  he  ought  to  have 
struck  out  for  the  lake,  as  he  (Everts)  would  do  if  lost.  So 
we  will  move  on  to  the  southwest  arm  of  the  lake  and  re- 
main three  or  four  days.  If  Mr.  Everts  overtakes  us  at  all 
he  will  do  so  by  that  time. 

Sunday,  September  11. — Gillette  and  Trumbull  returned 
to  camp  this  morning,  having  traversed  the  shore  of  the  lake 
to  a  point  east  of  our  camp  of  September  9th,  without  dis- 
covering any  sign  of  Mr.  Everts.  We  have  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  he  has  either  struck  out  for  the  lake  on  the 
west,  or  followed  down  the  stream  which  we  crossed  the  day 
he  was  lost,  or  that  he  is  possibly  following  us.  The  latter, 
however,  is  not  very  probable. 

Mr.  Hauser,  Lieutenant  Doane  and  I  saddled  up  imme- 
diately after  breakfast,  and,  with  a  supply  of  provisions  for 
Mr.  Everts,  pressed  forward  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the 
party,  marking  a  trail  for  the  pack  animals  through  the 
openings  in  the  dense  woods,  and  avoiding,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  fallen  timber.  We  rode  through  with  all  possible 
dispatch,  watching  carefully  for  the  tracks  of  a  horse,  but 
found  no  sign  of  Mr.  Everts.  We  followed  both  the  beach 
and  the  trail  on  the  bank  for  several  miles  in  either  direc- 
tion, but  we  saw  neither  sign  nor  track.  The  small  stream 
which  we  crossed  on  the  9th  does  not  flow  into  this  arm  of 
the  lake  as  we  thought  it  might,  and  it  is  evidently  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Snake  river. 

The  pack  train  arrived  early  in  the  afternoon  with  the 
rest  of  the  party,  and  all  were  astonished  and  saddened  that 
no  trace  of  Mr.  Everts  had  been  found.  We  shall  to-night 
mature  a  plan  for  a  systematic  search  for  him.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  we  will  make  this  camp  the  base  of  operations,  and 


80       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

remain  here  several  days.  Everts  has  with  him  a  supply 
of  matches,  ammunition  and  fishing  tackle,  and  if  he  will 
but  travel  in  a  direct  line  and  not  veer  around  to  the  right 
or  left  in  a  circle,  he  will  yet  be  all  right. 

Directly  west  of  our  camp  on  the  further  side  of  this  arm 
of  the  lake,  and  about  four  miles  distant,  are  several  hot 
springs  which  we  shall  visit  before  leaving  the  lake. 

We  were  roused  this  morning  about  2  o'clock  by  the  shrill 
howl  of  a  mountain  lion,  and  again  while  we  were  at  break- 
fast we  heard  another  yell.  As  we  stood  around  our  camp- 
fire  to-night,  our  ears  were  saluted  with  a  shriek  so  terribly 
human,  that  for  a  moment  we  believed  it  to  be  a  call  from 
Mr.  Everts,  and  we  hallooed  in  response,  and  several  of  our 
party  started  in  the  direction  whence  the  sounds  came,  and 
would  have  instituted  a  search  for  our  comrade  but  for  an 
admonitory  growl  of  a  mountain  lion. 

We  have  traveled  to-day  about  seven  miles.  On  leaving 
our  camps  yesterday  and  to-day,  we  posted  conspicuously 
at  each  a  placard,  stating  clearly  the  direction  we  had  taken 
and  where  provisions  could  be  found. 

The  country  through  which  we  have  passed  for  the  past 
five  days  is  like  that  facetiously  described  by  Bridger  as 
being  so  desolate  and  impassable  and  barren  of  resources, 
that  even  the  crows  flying  over  it  were  obliged  to  carry  along 
with  them  supplies  of  provisions. 

Monday,  September  12. — In  accordance  with  our  pre-ar- 
ranged programme,  three  parties  were  sent  out  this  morning 
in  search  of  Mr.  Everts.  Smith  and  Trumbull  were  to  fol- 
low the  lake  shore  until  they  came  in  sight  of  our  last  camp. 
Hauser  and  Gillette  were  to  return  on  our  trail  through  the 
woods,  taking  with  them  their  blankets  and  two  days'  ra- 
tions. General  Washburn  and  myself  were  to  take  a  south- 
erly direction  towards  what  we  called  "Brown  Mountain," 
some  twelve  miles  away.     Smith    and    Trumbull    returned 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        81 

early  in  the  afternoon  and  reported  having  seen  in  the  sand 
the  tracks  of  a  man's  foot,  and  Smith  thought  that  he  saw 
several  Indians,  who  disappeared  in  the  woods  as  they  ap- 
proached; but  Trumbull,  who  was  with  him,  did  not  see 
them,  and  Smith  says  it  was  because  he  was  short-sighted. 
For  some  reason  they  did  not  pursue  their  investigations 
farther,  and  soon  returned  in  good  order  to  camp. 

The  reconnaissance  made  by  General  Washburn  and  my- 
self resulted  in  no  discovery  of  any  trace  of  Everts.  We 
traveled  about  eleven  miles  directly  south,  nearly  to  the  base 
of  Brown  mountain,  carefully  examining  the  ground  the 
whole  of  the  way,  to  see  if  any  horseshoe  tracks  could  be  dis- 
covered. We  crossed  no  stream  between  the  lake  and  the 
mountain,  and  if  Mr.  Everts  followed  the  stream  which  we 
crossed  on  the  9th,  he  is  south  of  Brown  mountain,  for  it  is 
evident  that  he  did  not  pass  westward  between  Brown  moun- 
tain and  Yellowstone  lake;  otherwise  we  would  have  dis- 
covered the  tracks  of  his  horse. 

It  is  now  night,  and  Hauser  and  Gillette  have  not  yet  re- 
turned. 

Two  miles  on  this  side  (the  north  side)  of  Brown  moun- 
tain, Washburn  and  I  passed  over  a  low  divide,  which,  1 
think,  must  be  the  main  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  just 
beyond  which  is  another  brimstone  basin  containing  forty 
or  fifty  boiling  sulphur  and  mud  springs,  and  any  number  of 
small  steam  jets.  A  small  creek  runs  through  the  basin,  and 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains  on  either  side  to  the  height  of 
several  hundred  feet  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  volcanic 
action  beneath  the  crust  over  which  we  were  traveling.  A 
considerable  portion  of  the  slope  of  the  mountain  was  cov- 
ered with  a  hollow  incrustation  of  sulphur  and  lime,  or 
silica,  from  which  issued  in  many  places  hot  steam,  and  we 
found  many  small  craters  from  six  to  twelve  inches  in  diam- 
eter, from  which  issued  the  sound  of  the  boiling  sulphur  or 


82       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

mud,  and  in  many  instances  we  could  see  the  mud  or  sulphur 
water.  There  are  many  other  springs  of  water  slightly  im- 
pregnated with  sulphur,  in  which  the  water  was  too  hot  for 
us  to  bear  the  hand  more  than  two  or  three  seconds,  and 
which  overflowed  the  green  spaces  between  the  incrusta- 
tions, completely  saturating  the  ground,  and  over  which  in 
many  places  the  grass  had  grown,  forming  a  turf  compact 
and  solid  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man  ordinarily; 
but  when  it  once  gave  way  the  underlying  deposit  was  so 
thin  that  it  afforded  no  support.  While  crossing,  heedless 
of  General  Washburn's  warning,  one  of  these  green  places, 
my  horse  broke  through  and  sank  to  his  body  as  if  in  a  bed 
of  quicksand.  I  was  off  his  back  in  an  instant  and  succeeded 
in  extricating  the  struggling  animal,  the  turf  being  strong 
enough  to  bear  his  body  alone,  without  the  addition  of  the 
weight  of  a  man.  The  fore  legs  of  my  horse,  however,  had  gone 
through  the  turf  into  the  hot,  thin  mud  beneath.  General 
Washburn,  who  was  a  few  yards  behind  me  on  an  incrusted 
mound  of  lime  and  sulphur  (which  bore  us  in  all  cases),  and 
who  had  just  before  called  to  me  to  keep  off  the  grassy  place, 
as  there  was  danger  beneath  it,  inquired  of  me  if  the  deposit 
beneath  the  turf  was  hot.  Without  making  examination  I 
answered  that  I  thought  it  might  be  warm.  Shortly  after- 
wards the  turf  again  gave  way,  and  my  horse  plunged  more 
violently  than  before,  throwing  me  over  his  head,  and,  as  I 
fell,  my  right  arm  was  thrust  violently  through  the  treach- 
erous surface  into  the  scalding  morass,  and  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty that  I  rescued  my  poor  horse,  and  I  found  it  necessary 
to  instantly  remove  my  glove  to  avoid  blistering  my  hand. 
The  frenzied  floundering  of  my  horse  had  in  the  first  instance 
suggested  to  General  Washburn  the  idea  that  the  under 
stratum  was  hot  enough  to  scald  him.  General  Washburn 
was  right  in  his  conjecture.  It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance 
that  I  to-day  rode  my  light-weight  pack  horse;   for,  if  I  had 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.        83 

ridden  my  heavy  saddle  horse,  I  think  that  the  additional 
weight  of  his  body  would  have  broken  the  turf  which  held 
up  the  lighter  animal,  and  that  he  would  have  disappeared  in 
the  hot  boiling  mud,  taking  me  with  him. 

At  the  base  of  Brown  mountain  is  a  lake,  the  size  of 
which  we  could  not  very  accurately  ascertain,  but  which  was 
probably  about  two  miles  long  by  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
wide.  On  the  south  end  appeared  to  be  an  outlet,  and  it 
seems  to  be  near  the  head  of  the  Snake  river.  Owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  reaching  the  beach,  growing  out  of  the  mishaps 
arising  from  the  giving  way  of  the  turf,  as  I  have  described, 
our  nearest  approach  to  the  lake  was  about  one-half  of  a 
mile. 

During  the  absence  of  Washburn  and  myself  Mr.  Hedges 
has  spent  the  day  in  fishing,  catching  forty  of  the  fine  trout 
with  which  the  lake  abounds.  Mr.  Stickney  has  to-day  made 
an  inventory  of  our  larder,  and  we  find  that  our  luxuries, 
such  as  coffee,  sugar  and  flour,  are  nearly  used  up,  and  that 
we  have  barely  enough  of  necessary  provisions — salt,  pepper, 
etc.,  to  last  us  ten  days  longer  with  economy  in  their  use. 
We  will  remain  at  the  lake  probably  three  or  four  days 
longer  with  the  hope  of  finding  some  trace  of  Everts,  when 
it  will  be  necessary  to  turn  our  faces  homewards  to  avoid 
general  disaster,  and  in  the  meantime  we  will  dry  a  few  hun- 
dred pounds  of  trout,  and  carry  them  with  us  as  a  precau- 
tionary measure  against  starvation.  At  all  of  our  camps 
for  the  past  three  days,  and  along  the  line  of  travel  between 
them,  we  have  blazed  the  trees  as  a  guide  for  Mr.  Everts,  and 
have  left  a  small  supply  of  provisions  at  each  place,  securely 
cached,  with  notices  directing  Mr.  Everts  to  the  places  of 
concealment.  The  soldiers'  rations  issued  for  thirty  days^ 
service  will  barely  hold  out  for  their  own  use,  and  we  have 
little  chance  of  borrowing  from  them.  We  left  Helena  with 
thirty  days'  rations,  expecting  to  be  absent  but  twenty-five 


84       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

days.  We  have  already  been  journeying  twenty-seven  days, 
and  are  still  a  long  way  from  home. 

A  few  nights  ago  I  became  ravenously  hungry  while  on 
guard,  and  ate  a  small  loaf  of  bread,  one  of  five  loaves  that 
I  found  in  a  pan  by  the  camp-fire.  I  was  not  aware  at  the 
time  that  these  loaves  were  a  part  of  the  soldiers'  breakfast 
rations,  nor  did  I  know  that  in  the  army  service  each  soldier 
has  his  own  particular  ration  of  bread.  So  the  next  morn- 
ing, with  one  ration  of  bread  missing,  one  soldier  would 
have  been  short  in  his  allowance  if  the  others  had  not  shared 
their  loaves  with  him.  I  supposed  at  the  time  of  my  discov- 
ery of  the  five  loaves  that  they  belonged  to  the  larder  of  the 
Washburn  branch  of  the  party — not  to  the  escort — and  I 
apologized  to  the  soldiers  when  I  learned  the  truth,  and  we 
are  now  as  good  friends  as  ever;  but,  from  an  occasional 
remark  which  they  drop  in  my  presence,  I  perceive  that  they 
think  they  have  the  laugh  on  me.  Unfortunately  for  them, 
we  will  part  company  before  we  reach  the  settlements,  and 
I  will  have  no  opportunity  to  liquidate  my  obligations.  Hard 
work  and  plain  living  have  already  reduced  my  superfluous 
flesh,  and  "my  clothes  like  a  lady's  loose  gown  hang  about 
me,"  as  the  old  song  runs. 

Day  before  yesterday  Mr.  Gillette  and  I  discussed  the 
question  of  the  probability  of  a  man  being  able  to  sustain 
life  in  this  region,  by  depending  for  his  subsistence  upon 
whatever  roots  or  berries  are  to  be  found  here.  We  have 
once  before  to-day  referred  to  the  fact  that  we  have  seen  none 
of  the  roots  which  are  to  be  found  in  other  parts  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  and  especially  in  the  elevated  val- 
leys. We  have  not  noticed  on  this  trip  a  single  growing 
plant  or  specimen  of  the  camas,  the  cowse,  or  yamph.  If  Mr. 
Everts  has  followed  the  stream  on  which  we  were  camped 
the  day  he  was  lost  down  into  the  Snake  river  valley,  he  will 
find  an  abundance  of  the  camas  root,  which  is  most  nutri- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        85 

tious,  and  which  will  sustain  his  life  if  he  has  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  root  to  distinguish  the  edible  from  the 
poisonous  plant. 

I  have  been  told  by  James  Stuart  that  in  the  valley  of  the 
Snake  river  the  "camas"  and  the  ^^cowse"  roots  are  to  be 
found  in  great  abundance,  and  are  much  prized  as  food  by 
the  Indians.  "Cowse"  is  a  Nez  Perce  word,  the  Snake  In- 
dians give  the  name  "thoig'^  to  the  same  root.  It  grows  in 
great  abundance  in  the  country  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians, 
who  eat  great  quantities  of  it,  and  these  Indians  are  called 
by  the  Snake  Indians  the  "Thoig  A-rik-ka,"  or  ^^Cowse-eat- 
ers."  The  camas  is  both  flour  and  potatoes  for  several  wan- 
dering nations,  and  it  is  found  in  the  most  barren  and  deso- 
late regions  in  greatest  quantity.  The  camas  is  a  small 
round  root,  not  unlike  an  onion  in  appearance.  It  is  sweet 
to  the  taste,  full  of  gluten,  and  very  satisfying  to  a  hungry 
man.  The  Indians  have  a  mode  of  preparing  it  which  makes 
it  very  relishable.  In  a  hole  a  foot  in  depth,  and  six  feet 
in  diameter,  from  which  the  turf  has  been  carefully  removed, 
they  build  a  fire  for  the  purpose  of  heating  the  exposed  earth 
surface,  while  in  another  fire  they  heat  at  the  same  time  a 
sufficient  number  of  flat  rocks  to  serve  as  a  cover.  After  the 
heating  process  is  completed,  the  roots  are  spread  over  the 
bottom  of  the  hole,  covered  with  the  turf  with  the  grass  side 
down,  the  heated  rocks  spread  above,  and  a  fire  built  upon 
them,  and  the  process  of  cooking  produces  about  the  same 
change  in  the  camas  that  is  produced  in  coffee  by  roasting. 
It  also  preserves  it  in  a  suitable  form  for  ready  use. 

The  yamph  has  a  longer  and  smaller  bulb  than  the  camas, 
though  not  quite  as  nutritious,  and  may  be  eaten  raw. 
Either  of  these  roots  contains  nutriment  sufficient  to  sup- 
port life,  and  often  in  the  experience  of  the  tribes  of  the 
mountains  winters  have  been  passed  with  no  other  food. 
There  is  a  poisonous  camas,  which  is  sometimes  mistaken  for 


8G 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 


the  genuine  root,  but  which  cannot  be  eaten  in  large  quan- 
tities without  fatal  results.  It  always  grows  where  the 
true  camas  is  found,  and  much  care  is  necessary  to  avoid 
mixing  the  two  while  gathering  the  roots  in  any  considerable 
quantity.  So  great  is  the  esteem  in  which  the  camas  is  held 
that  many  of  the  important  localities  of  the  country  in  which 
it  is  found  are  named  for  it.* 


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SECTION  OF  FUNNEL-SHAPED  SPRING. 
Showing  how  branches  and  twigs  lodge  at  the  point 
OF  convergence  so  as  to  make  a  foundation  for  grass 
and  earth  until  the  spring  is  filled  to  the  top  and 
the  surface  is  covered  with  a  living  turf  strong 
enough  to  bear  a  considerable  weight. 

Lieutenant  Doane  was  much  amazed  at  the  appearance  of 
my  horse's  legs,  upon  our  return  from  Brown  mountain,  and 


*Tlie  Honorable  Granville  Stuart,  of  Montana,  in  his  book  "Mon- 
tana as  It  Is,"  published  in  1865,  says  that  there  is  another  root 
found  in  portions  of  Montana  which  I  have  never  seen.  Mr.  Stuart 
says: 

"Thistle-root  is  the  root  of  the  common  thistle,  which  is  very 
abundant  in  the  bottoms  along  nearly  all  the  streams  in  the  moun- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870.        87 

has  asked  General  Washburn  and  myself  what  can  be  the 
nature  of  the  ground  where  such  a  mishap  could  occur.  My 
theory  of  the  matter  is  this :  We  frequently  found  springs 
of  hot  water— though  not  boiling— some  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  top,  the  sides  of  which  were  funnel- 


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BREAKING  THROUGH  THE  TURF, 

FORMED  OVER  THE  SURFACE  OF  SUCH  A  SPRING  AS  THAT 
SHOWN  ON  THE  OPPOSITE  PAGE. 


shaped,  and  converged  to  a  narrow  opening  of  say  three  feet 
diameter  at  a  depth  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  which  be- 


tain.     They  grow  to  about  the  size  of  a  large  radish,  and  taste  very 
much  like  turnips,  and  are  good  either  raw  or  cooked  with  meat." 

Captain  William  Clark,  of  the  famous  Lewis  and  Clark  expedi- 
tion, dropped  the  final  e  from  the  word  cowse,  spelling  it  c-o-w-s. 
Unless  this  error  is  noticed  by  the  reader,  he  will  not  understand 
what  Captain  Clark  meant  when  he  said  that  members  of  his  party 
were  searching  for  the  cows. 


88       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

low  the  point  of  convergence  opened  out  like  an  hour  glass. 
In  some  of  these  springs  at  the  point  of  convergence  we 
found  tree  branches  that  had  fallen  into  the  spring  and  had 
become  impregnated  with  the  silica  or  lime  of  the  water; 
water-soaked  we  call  it.  I  saw  a  number  of  such  springs 
in  which  several  branches  of  trees  were  lying  across  the 
small  opening  at  the  point  of  convergence.  When  once 
these  are  firmly  lodged,  they  form  a  support  for  smaller 
branches  and  twigs,  and  thus  the  tufts  of  grass  which  the 
spring  floods  or  melting  snows  bring  down  from  the  sides 
of  the  mountain  will,  after  a  few  years,  made  a  sufficiently 
strong  foundation  for  the  earth,  which  will  also  wash  down 
the  slopes  into  the  spring.  Once  a  firm  footing  is  estab- 
lished, it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  spring  will  be 
filled  to  the  brim  with  earth.  Then  gradually  the  seed 
blown  over  the  surface  of  the  spring  from  the  weeds  and 
grass  near  by  will  take  root,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  a  strong  turf  will  be  formed,  through  which  the  water 
may  percolate  in  many  places,  though  giving  to  the  unsus- 
pecting traveler  no  sign  of  its  treacherous  character.  I 
think  that  it  was  through  such  a  turf  as  this  that  the  fore 
legs  of  my  horse  and  my  right  hand  were  plunged.* 

My  pack  horse  which  I  rode  to-day,  a  buckskin  colored 
broncho,  which  is  docile  under  the  pack  saddle,  "bucked" 
as  I  mounted  him  this  morning;  but  I  kept  my  seat  in  the 
saddle  without  difficulty.  Walter  Trumbull,  however,  on 
my  return  to-night,  presented  me  with  a  sketch  which  he 
says  is  a  faithful  portrayal  of  both  horse  and  rider  in  the 


♦Lieutenant  Doane,  in  his  official  repprt  to  the  War  Department, 
says,  concerning  this  episode: 

"Washburn  and  Langford  *  *  *  became  entangled  in  an  im- 
mense swampy  brimstone  basin,  abounding  in  sulphur  springs. 
*  *  *  Mr.  Langford's  horse  broke  through  several  times,  coming 
back  plastered  with  the  white  substance  and  badly  scalded." 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Extedition  of  1870. 


89 


acrobatic  act.     I  think  the  sketch  is  an  exaggeration,  and 
that  I  hugged  the  saddle  in  better  form  than  it  indicates. 

Tuesday,  September  13. — It  was  Jake  Smith's  turn  to 
stand  guard  last  night,  but  he  refused  to  do  so,  and  Wash- 
burn took  his  place. 


MY  BUCKING  BRONCHO. 


We  have  remained  in  camp  all  day.  At  about  9  o'clock 
this  morning  it  began  to  rain  and  hail,  and  we  have  had  a 
little  snow,  which  continued  to  fall  at  intervals  all  day.  At 
about  6  o'clock  this  evening  Hauser  and  Gillette  arrived  in 
camp,  having  returned  on  the  trail  to  within  three  miles  of 
the  place  where  we  camped  on  the  night  of  September  7th. 
They  examined  the  trail  and  the  beach  with  the  utmost  care, 
but  without  discovering  any  trace  of  Mr.  Everts.     They  say 


90        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

that  the  trail  over  which  our  train  passed,  or,  rather,  the 
path  which  our  train  made,  w^as  hardly  plain  enough  to  be 
followed,  and  in  many  places  where  the  pine  leaves  had 
fallen  thick  upon  the  ground,  it  was  totally  invisible,  so  that 
no  one  could  have  followed  it  with  certainty  except  by  dis- 
mounting and  closely  observing  the  ground  at  every  step. 
They  made  the  journey  very  well,  from  the  fact  that  they 
had  traveled  the  route  once  before,  and  their  horses  instinct- 
ively followed  the  back  path  for  a  great  part  of  the  distance 
without  any  special  guidance.  On  their  near  approach  to 
camp,  when  the  trail  was  no  longer  discernible,  their  dog 
"Booby"  took  the  lead  when  they  were  at  fault,  and  brought 
them  into  camp  all  right.  They  think  they  might  have  been 
forced  to  lie  out  all  night  but  for  the  sagacity  of  "Booby." 
They  made  on  each  of  the  two  days  nearly  as  great  a  dis- 
tance as  our  train  traveled  in  four  days.  Their  report  has 
fully  set  at  rest  the  question  of  Mr.  Everts  having  followed 
us.  It  settles  as  a  fact  that  he  did  not  again  strike  our  trail,, 
and  that  had  he  done  so  he  could  not  have  followed  it,  owing 
to  his  short-sightedness.  Hauser  and  Gillette  are  probably 
the  two  best  trailers  and  woodsmen  in  our  party,  and  their 
report  of  the  condition  of  the  trail  and  the  difficulty  expe- 
rienced in  following  it  has  satisfied  us  that  Mr.  Everts  has 
either  struck  off  in  a  southerly  direction,  following  perhaps 
the  headwaters  of  the  Snake  river,  or  that  he  has  made  an 
effort  to  reach  the  head  of  the  lake  with  a  view  of  returning 
by  our  trail  to  Boteler's  ranch.  It  is  snowing  hard  to-night, 
and  the  prospect  for  a  day  or  two  more  in  this  camp  is  very 
good.  The  murky  atmosphere  to-night  brings  to  view  a  num- 
ber of  springs  on  the  opposite  shore  of  this  arm  of  the  lake 
and  farther  back  in  the  hills  which  we  have  not  heretofore 
seen,  and  the  steam  is  rising  from  fifty  craters  in  the  tim- 
bered ridge,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  New  England 
factory  village. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        91 

After  holding  a  council  this  evening  we  have  resolved  to 
remain  at  this  place  two  days  more,  hoping  that  Mr.  Everts 
may  overtake  us,  this  arm  of  the  lake  being  the  objective  point 
of  our  travel,  fixed  on  the  day  before  that  on  which  Mr. 
Everts  was  lost. 

Wednesday,  September  14. — We  have  remained  in  camp 
all  day,  as  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  move.  The  snow  is 
nearly  two  feet  deep,  and  is  very  wet  and  heavy,  and  our 
horses  are  pawing  in  it  for  forage.  Our  large  army  tent  is 
doing  us  good  service,  and,  as  there  is  an  abundance  of  dry 
wood  close  by  our  camp,  we  are  extremely  comfortable.  I 
am  the  only  one  of  the  party  who  has  a  pair  of  water-proof 
boots,  and  I  was  up  and  out  of  the  tent  this  morning  before 
daylight  cutting  into  cordwood  a  pine  log,  and  before  noon 
I  had  more  than  a  half  cord  at  the  tent  door.  Washburn 
and  Hauser  offered  to  do  some  of  this  work  if  I  would  loan 
them  my  water-proof  boots;  but,  as  they  are  of  a  full  size 
for  me,  and  would  probably  drop  off  of  their  feet,  I  told  them 
that  I  would  get  the  wood. 

Lieutenant  Doane  to-day  requested  me  to  loan  him  this 
diary  from  which  to  write  up  his  records,  as  the  condition 
of  his  thumb  has  interfered  with  his  use  of  a  pen  or  pencil. 
I  have  accordingly  loaned  it  to  him,  and  Private  Moore  has 
been  busy  the  greater  part  of  the  day  copying  portions  of  it. 

For  myself,  I  am  very  glad  to  have  a  day  of  rest,  for  I 
have  felt  much  wearied  for  several  days.  I  think  that  I  am 
certainly  within  bounds  when  I  say  that  I  have  put  in  six- 
teen hours  a  day  of  pretty  hard  work,  attending  to  camp 
duties,  and  writing  each  day  till  late  at  night,  and  I  realize 
that  this  journal  of  travel  is  becoming  ponderous.  Yet  there 
is  daily  crowded  upon  my  vision  so  much  of  novelty  and 
wonder,  which  should  be  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  world, 
and  which,  so  far  as  my  individual  effort  is  concerned,  will 
be  lost  to  it  if  I  do  not  record  the  incidents  of  each  dav's 


92        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

travel,  that  I  am  determined  to  make  my  journal  as  full  as 
possible,  and  to  purposely,  omit  no  details.  It  is  a  lifetime 
opportunity  for  publishing  to  all  who  may  be  interested  a 
complete  record  of  the  discoveries  of  an  expedition  which 
in  coming  time  will  rank  among  the  first  and  most  important 
of  American  explorations. 

It  is  cold  to-night,  and  the  water  in  a  pail  standing  at  our 
tent  door  was  frozen  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

The  water  fowl  are  more  abundant  at  this  point  than  they 
have  been  elsewhere  on  the  lake  on  our  journey  around  it, 
and  we  could  see  to-day  hundreds  of  swans,  geese  and  ducks, 
and  many  pelicans  and  gulls. 

Thursday,  September  15. — This  forenoon  the  weather  mod- 
erated, and  one-half  the  snow  has  melted,  so  that  it  is  but 
about  ten  inches  deep  to-night.  Still,  our  horses  are  becom- 
ing restless  for  want  of  sufficient  food.  The  patches  of  grass 
which  may  be  found  under  the  snow  are  very  limited  in  ex- 
tent, and  as  the  animals  are  confined  to  the  length  of  their 
lariats,  foraging  is  much  more  difficult  than  if  they  were 
running  loose.  We  have  seen  no  signs  of  Indians  following 
us  since  we  made  our  first  camp  upon  the  lake,  and  but  little 
evidence  that  they  have  ever  been  here,  except  some  few  logs 
piled  so  as  to  conceal  from  view  a  hunter  who  may  be  at- 
tempting to  bring  down  some  of  the  game  swimming  on  the 
lake.  We  feel  convinced  that  Jake  Smith  drew  upon  both 
his  imagination  and  his  fears  three  days  ago,  when  he  re- 
ported that  he  had  seen  Indians  on  the  beach  of  the  lake. 

Each  night  that  we  have  been  camped  here  we  have  heard 
the  shrill  cries  of  the  mountain  lions,  and  under  a  momen- 
tary illusion  I  have  each  time  been  half  convinced  that  it 
was  a  human  being  in  distress.  Because  of  the  mountain 
lions  we  are  keeping  close  watch  upon  our  horses.  They  are 
very  fond  of  horse  flesh,  and  oftentimes  will  follow  a  horse- 


LIEUT.  GUSTAVUS  C.  DOANE. 


JACK  BARONETTE. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        9;> 

man  a  long  distance,  more  to  make  a  meal  upon  the  flesh  of 
the  horse  than  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  rider. 

During  the  three  days  we  have  spent  in  this  camp,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  complete  my  diary  for  September  8th,  9th 
and  10th,  which  were  red  letter  days — days  of  great  anxiety. 

I  had  a  good  nap  this  afternoon  while  my  diary  was  being 
used  for  Lieutenant  Doane,  and  I  feel  greatly  refreshed. 
My  first  thought  on  awakening  was  for  poor  Everts.  I 
wonder  where  he  can  be  throughout  all  this  fierce  storm  and 
deep  snow  I  Perhaps  the  snow  did  not  reach  him,  for  I  no- 
ticed to-night  that  the  ground  was  quite  bare  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  this  arm  of  the  lake,  while  the  snow  is  eight  or 
ten  inches  deep  here  at  our  camp.  Hauser  is  not  feeling 
very  well  to-night. 

Friday,  September  16. — We  this  morning  resolved  to  move 
over  to  the  vicinity  of  the  hot  springs  on  the  opposite  side 
of  this  arm  of  the  lake,  from  which  point  we  will  leave  the 
Yellowstone  for  the  Madison  river  or  some  one  of  its 
branches.  We  followed  up  the  beach  for  half  a  mile,  and 
then  journeyed  along  the  bank  of  the  lake  through  the  woods 
for  a  mile  to  avoid  the  quicksands  on  the  lake  shore;  then, 
taking  the  beach  again,  we  followed  it  to  the  springs  where 
we  are  now  camped.* 

These  springs  surpass  in  extent,  variety  and  beauty  any 
which  we  have  heretofore  seen.  They  extend  for  the  dis- 
tance of  nearly  a  mile  along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  back 
from  the  beach  about  one  hundred  yards.  They  number 
between  ninety  and  one  hundred  springs,  of  all  imaginable 
varieties.  Farthest  from  the  beach  are  the  springs  of  boil- 
ing mud,  in  some  of  which  the  mud  is  very  thin,  in  others  of 
such  a  consistency  that  it  is  heaped  up  as  it  boils  over,  gradu- 


*The  location  of  this  camp  is  what  is  now  called  the  "Thumb' 
station  on  the  stage  route. 


94       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

ally  spreading  under  its  own  weight  until  it  covers  quite  a 
large  surface.  The  mud  or  clay  is  of  different  colors.  That 
in  some  of  the  springs  is  nearly  as  white  as  white  marble; 
in  others  it  is  of  a  lavender  color ;  in  others  it  is  of  a  rich 
pink,  of  different  shades.  I  have  taken  specimens  of  each, 
which  I  will  have  analyzed  on  my  return  home.*  In  close 
proximity  to  these  are  springs  discharging  water  nearly 
clear  and  apparently  odorless,  the  bottoms  and  sides  of 
which,  as  well  as  of  the  channels  of  the  streams  running  from 
them,  are  covered  with  soft  deposits  of  some  substance  they 
contain  in  solution.  These  deposits  and  the  hard  incrusta- 
tions around  the  edges  of  the  springs  are  of  various  colors, 
in  some  cases  being  dark  red,  in  others  scarlet,  in  others  yel- 
low, and  in  still  others  green. 

Along  the  shore  of  the  lake  are  several  boiling  springs  situ- 
ated in  the  top  of  incrusted  craters,  but  which  do  not  boil 
over,  the  sediment  which  has  been  deposited  around  them 
forming  a  wall  or  embankment,  holding  back  the  water. 

But  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  springs  at  this  point 
are  six  or  seven  of  a  character  differing  from  any  of  the  rest. 
The  water  in  them  is  of  a  dark  blue  or  ultra-marine  hue,  but 
it  is  wonderfully  clear  and  transparent.  Two  of  these 
springs  are  quite  large ;  the  remaining  five  are  smaller,  their 
diameters  ranging  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet.     The  water  in 


*Aiialyses  of  the  various  specimens  of  mud  taken  from  the 
springs  in  this  locality,  made  on  our  return  to  Helena,  gave  the  fol- 
lowing results: 

White  Sediment.         Lavender  Sediment.  Pink  Sediment. 

Silica 42.2  Silica 28.2  Silica 32.6 

Magnesia   33.4  Alumina   58.6  Alumina   52.4 

Lime    17.8  Boracic   acid 3.2  Oxide  of  calcium     8.3 

Alkalis   6.6  Oxide  of  iron 0.6  Soda  and  potassa    4.2 

-Oxide  of  calcium     4.2  Water  and  loss..     2.5 


100.0 Water  and  loss..     5.2 


100.0 


100.0 
These  analyses   were  made  by  Professor  Augustus   Steitz,   as- 
sayer  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Helena,  Mont. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        95 

one  of  these  latter  is  thrown  up  to  the  height  of  two  feet. 
The  largest  two  of  these  springs  are  irregular  in  their  gen- 
eral outline  of  nearly  an  oval  shape,  the  larger  of  the  two 
being  about  twenty-five  feet  wide  by  forty  long,  and  the 
smaller  about  twenty  by  thirty  feet.  The  discharge  from 
each  of  them  is  about  one  gallon  per  minute.  The  sides  of  the 
springs  are  funnel-shaped,  and  converge  until  at  the  depth 
of  thirty  feet,  the  opening  is  about  eight  feet  in  diameter. 
From  the  surface  or  rim  down  to  the  lowest  point  of  con- 
vergence where  the  opening  enlarges,  the  sides  of  the  funnel 
(which  are  corrugated  and  very  uneven  and  irregular)  are 
covered  with  a  white  deposit  or  incrustation  which  contrasts 
vividly  with  the  dark  opening  at  its  base,  which  is  distinctly 
visible  at  the  depth  of  forty  feet.  These  two  springs  are  dis- 
tant from  each  other  about  twenty  yards,  and  there  is  a  dif- 
ference of  about  four  feet  in  the  elevation  or  level  of  the 
water.  One  peculiar  feature  of  all  these  springs  is  that  they 
seem  to  have  no  connection  with  each  other  beneath  the  sur- 
face. We  find  springs  situated  five  or  six  feet  apart,  of  the 
same  general  appearance  but  of  different  temperatures,  and 
with  the  water  upon  different  levels.  The  overflow  from 
these  springs  for  a  great  number  of  years  has  formed  an  in- 
crusted  bank  overlooking  the  border  of  the  lake,  rising  to  the 
height  of  six  feet;  and,  as  the  streams  running  from  the 
springs  are  bordered  with  incrustations  of  various  hues,  de- 
pending upon  the  nature  of  the  deposit  or  substance  in  solu- 
tion, so  the  incrusted  bank,  which  has  been  in  process  of  for- 
mation for  ages,  exhibits  all  of  these  varied  colors.  In  a 
number  of  places  along  the  bank  of  the  lake,  this  incrusted 
deposit  is  broken  down  and  has  crumbled  into  small  pieces, 
upon  which  the  waves  have  dashed  until  they  have  been 
moulded  into  many  curious  shapes,  and  having  all  the  colors 
of  the  deposits  in  the  springs — white,  red  and  white  blended, 
yellow  and  green.     Cavernous  hollows  which  fill  the  shore 


96       Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

incrustation  respond  in  weird  and  melancholy  echoes  to  the 
dash  of  the  billows. 

The  bottoms  of  the  streams  flowing  from  the  deeper 
springs  have  for  some  distance  a  pure  white  incrustation; 
farther  down  the  slope  the  deposit  is  white  in  the  center  with 
sides  of  red,  and  still  farther  down  the  white  deposit  is  hid- 
den entirely  by  the  red  combined  with  yellow.  From  nearly 
all  these  spriijgs  we  obtained  specimens  of  the  adjoining  in- 
crustations, all  of  which  were  too  hot  to  be  held  for  more 
than  a  moment  even  with  the  gloved  hand. 

Between  the  springs  all  along  the  border  of  the  lake  were 
small  craters  from  which  issued  hot  steam  or  vapor,  besides 
which  there  were  many  cold  craters.  Along  the  edge  of  the 
lake,  out  in  the  water  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  from  the  shore 
are  to  be  found  springs  with  the  water  bubbling  up  a  few 
inches  above  the  surface.  None  of  the  springs  in  this  locality 
appeared  to  be  very  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur. 
Some  of  the  incrustations  on  the  beach  are  as  white  and 
delicate  as  alabaster.  These  are  the  springs  which  we  ob- 
served on  September  5th  from  our  camp  on  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  lake. 

Our  explorations  of  the  Yellowstone  will  cease  at  this 
point,  and  to-morrow  we  start  in  our  search  for  Firehole 
Basin.  Our  journey  around  Yellowstone  lake  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  beach  is  doubtless  the  first  ever  attempted ;  and, 
although  it  has  been  attended  with  difficulty  and  distress, 
these  have  been  to  me  as  nothing  compared  with  the  enjoy- 
ment the  journey  has  afforded,  and  it  is  with  the  greatest  re- 
gret that  I  turn  my  face  from  it  homewards.  How  can  I 
sum  up  its  wonderful  attractions !  It  is  dotted  with  islands 
of  great  beauty,  as  yet  unvisited  by  man,  but  which  at  no 
remote  period  will  be  adorned  with  villas  and  the  ornaments 
of  civilized  life.  The  winds  from  the  mountain  gorges  roll  its 
placid  waters  into  a  furious  sea,  and  crest  its  billows  with 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        07 

foam.  Forests  of  pine,  deep,  dark  and  almost  impenetrable, 
are  scattered  at  random  along  its  banks,  and  its  beautiful 
margin  presents  every  variety  of  sand  and  pebbly  beach, 
glittering  with  crystals,  carnelians  and  chalcedony.  The 
Indians  approach  it  under  the  fear  of  a  superstition  origi- 
nating in  the  volcanic  forces  surrounding  it,  which  amounts 
almost  to  entire  exclusion.  It  possesses  adaptabilities  for 
the  highest  display  of  artificial  culture,  amid  the  greatest 
wonders  of  Nature  that  the  world  affords,  and  is  beautified 
by  the  grandeur  of  the  most  extensive  mountain  scenery,  and 
not  many  years  can  elapse  before  the  march  of  civil  improve- 
ment will  reclaim  this  delightful  solitude,  and  garnish  it 
with  all  the  attractions  of  cultivated  taste  and  refinement. 

Strange  and  interesting  as  are  the  various  objects  which 
we  have  met  with  in  this  vast  field  of  natural  wonders,  no 
camp  or  place  of  rest  on  our  journey  has  afforded  our  party 
greater  satisfaction  than  the  one  we  are  now  occupying, 
which  is  our  first  camp  since  emerging  from  the  dense  forest. 
Filled  with  gloom  at  the  loss  of  our  comrade,  tired,  tattered, 
browned  by  exposure  and  reduced  in  flesh  by  our  labors, 
we  resemble  more  a  party  of  organized  mendicants  than  of 
men  in  pursuit  of  ligature's  greatest  novelties.  But  from 
this  point  we  hope  that  our  journey  will  be  comparatively 
free  from  difficulties  of  travel. 

Mr.  Hauser's  experience  as  a  civil  engineer  has  been  an 
invaluable  aid  in  judging  of  the  "lay  of  the  land,"  and  so 
in  giving  direction  to  our  party  in  its  zig-zag  journeying 
around  the  lake.  In  speaking  of  this,  Hauser  says  that  he 
thinks  that  I  have  a  more  correct  idea  of  mountain  heights, 
distances  and  directions,  and  can  follow  a  direct  course 
through  dense  timber  more  unerringly  than  any  man  he 
knows,  except  James  Stuart — a  compliment  which  I  ac- 
cept most  graciously.  Some  of  our  party  declare  that  they 
would  have  had  no  expectation  of  finding  their  way  back 


98        Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

to  camp,  if  they  had  ventured  into  the  forest  in  search  of 
Mr.  Everts. 

I  recited  to  Washburn  and  Hauser  to-night  an  extract 
from  ''The  Task,"  by  the  poet  Cowper,  which,  in  my  younger 
days,  I  memorized  for  declamation,  and  which,  I  think,  is  at 
once  expressive  of  our  experience  in  the  journey  around  the 
lake  and  of  our  present  relief. 

"As  one  who  long  in  thickets  and  in  brakes 
Entangled,  winds  now  this  way  and  now  that, 
His  devious  course  uncertain,  seeking  home, 
Or  having  long  in  miry  ways  been  foiled 
And  sore  discomfited,  from  slough  to  slough 
Plunging,  and  half  despairing  of  escape. 
If  chance  at  length  he  finds  a  green-sward 
Smooth  and  faithful  to  the  foot,  his  spirits  rise. 
He  chirrups  brisk  his  ear-erecting  steed, 
And  winds  his  way  with  pleasure  and  with  ease." 

It  is  a  source  of  great  regret  to  us  all  that  we  must  leave 
this  place  and  abandon  the  search  for  Mr.  Everts;  but  our 
provisions  are  rapidly  diminishing,  and  force  of  circum- 
stances obliges  us  to  move  forward.  We  still  indulge  the 
hope  that  he  may  have  found  and  followed  down  some 
branch  of  the  Madison  river  and  reached  Virginia  City,  or 
down  Snake  river  and  reached  some  settlement  in  that  val- 
ley; and  but  for  our  anxiety  to  reach  home  and  prove  or 
disprove  our  expectations,  we  might  have  devoted  much 
more  time  to  visiting  the  objects  of  interest  we  have  seen, 
and  which  we  have  been  obliged  to  pass  by. 

Mr.  Hauser  has  eaten  nothing  to-day,  and  this  evening  he 
told  me  that  he  felt  sick.  Such  an  acknowledgment  from 
him  means  far  more  than  it  would  coming  from  many  an- 
other man,  for  I  know  from  intimate  association  with  him 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.        99 

for  eight  years  that  there  is  no  man  in  our  party  who  will 
more  uncomplainingly  reconcile  himself  to  the  hardships 
and  privations  of  such  a  journey  as  this,  and  if  he  is  too  ill 
to  travel  to-morrow  morning,  and  if  the  rest  of  our  party 
think  that  they  ought  to  take  up  the  journey  homeward,  I 
will  remain  with  him  here  for  a  day,  and  as  the  others  will 
have  to  search  out  a  path  through  the  fallen  timber,  we  can 
make  their  two  days'  journey  in  one  by  following  their 
beaten  trail  without  obstacles,  and  overtake  them  by  the 
time  they  reach  the  Firehole  river,  if  they  find  it  at  all. 

Saturday,  September  17,  morning. — We  were  awakened 
before  daylight  this  morning  by  loud  roaring  sounds  pro- 
ceeding from  the  hot  springs  close  by  our  camp,  some  of 
which  were  in  violent  action,  though  entirely  quiescent  yes- 
terday. Some  of  them  in  which  the  surface  of  the  water, 
last  night,  was  several  feet  below  the  rim,  are  nov7  overflow- 
ing. 

My  saddle  horse  broke  his  lariat,  frightened  by  the  roar- 
ing of  the  springs,  and  plunged  along  too  near  one  of  them, 
when  the  surrounding  incrustation  gave  way  and  he  sank 
down  to  his  body,  but  frantically  extricated  himself  with- 
out standing  upon  the  order  of  his  extrication ; — but  he  has 
cut  his  foot  so  badly  that  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  prudent 
to  ride  him  to-day.  In  his  stead  I  will  ride  my  smaller 
pack  horse,  who  has  nearly  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
scalding  he  received  on  my  trip  to  Brown  mountain.  The 
hair  has  come  off  his  legs  in  several  places  as  the  result  of 
that  mishap,  yet  his  wonderful  vitality  always  leaves  him 
in  a  cheerful  frame  of  mind  and  ready  for  any  duty. 

This  has  been  a  gloomy  morning  in  our  camp,  for  we  all 
have  been  depressed  at  the  thought  of  leaving  the  lake  and 
abandoning  the  search  for  Mr.  Everts.  We  have  discussed 
the  situation  from  every  point  of  view,  and  have  tried  to 
put  ourselves  in  his  place  and  have  considered  all  the  possi- 


100     Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

bilities  of  fate  that  may  befall  him.  At  one  moment  he  may 
be  buoyed  up  with  hope,  however  faint — at  another  weighed 
down  by  despair  and  fear,  with  all  their  mental  terrors. 
Has  he  met  death  by  accident,  or  may  he  be  injured  and  un- 
able to  move,  and  be  suffering  the  horrors  of  starvation  and 
fever?  Has  he  wandered  aimlessly  hither  and  thither  until 
bereft  of  reason?  As  I  contemplate  all  these  possibilities, 
it  is  a  relief  to  think  that  he  may  have  lost  his  life  at  the 
hand  of  some  vagabond  Indian. 

As  the  result  of  this  conference  we  have  decided  upon  a 
final  plan  of  action.  We  will  give  to  Gillette  from  our  rem- 
nant of  provisions,  ten  days'  rations,  and  Lieutenant  Doane 
will  detail  Privates  Moore  and  Williamson,  with  ten  days' 
rations,  and  the  three  will  continue  the  search  from  this 
point.  Mr.  Gillette  says  that  with  the  ten  days'  rations 
they  can  devote  five  days  to  a  continuous  search,  and  the 
remaining  five  days  will  be  sufficient,  with  forced  traveling, 
for  them  to  overtake  us. 

Hauser  has  endeavored  to  throw  a  little  cheer  into  the  con- 
ference by  saying  to  Gillette: 

"I  think  that  I  should  be  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  spend- 
ing ten  days  more  in  this  wilderness,  if  I  thought  that  by  so 
doing  I  could  find  a  father-in-law."  This  provoked  an  up- 
roarious shout  of  laughter,  for  we  well  understood  that 
Hauser  alluded  to  the  many  social  courtesies  which  Gillette, 
in  Helena,  had  extended  to  Miss  Bessie  Everts,  the  charming 
daughter  of  our  lost  comrade,  and  one  of  the  most  attractive 
of  Montana  belles.  This  sally  of  Mr.  Hauser  gives  to  me 
the  assurance  of  his  own  convalescence ;  and,  if  it  so  happens 
that  Gillette  finds  Mr.  Everts,  we  will  have  the  realization 
of  another  image  in  "Childe  Harold,"  "A  rapture  on  the 
lonely  shore."* 


*0n  our  return  home,  finding  that  no  tidings  of  Mr.  Everts  had 
been  received,  Jack  Baronette  and  Greorge  A.  Prichett,  two  experi- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  ob^  1870.      101 

Saturday,  September  17,  evening.— Gillette,  Moore  and 
Williamson  left  us  this  morning  about  9  o'clock  on  their 
final  quest  for  Mr.  Everts,  and  the  rest  of  our  party  soon  re- 
sumed our  journey.  We  have  traveled  about  twelve  miles 
to-day,  about  one-half  of  the  distance  being  through  open 
timber,  and  the  other  half  over  prostrate  pines  unmarked  by 
any  trail,  and  through  which  we  found  it  difficult  to  make 
our  way,  although  the  obstructions  were  not  so  formidable 
as  those  on  the  south  shore  of  Yellowstone  lake.*  About 
noon  we  crossed  a  high  ridge  which  we  had  reached  by  a 
steep  ascent,  and  on  descending  the  opposite  side  we  saw 
upon  our  left  a  large  lake  which  Lieutenant  Doane  and  some 
others  of  our  party  think  is  at  the  head  of  Firehole  river, 
and  they  suggested  that  we  make  our  way  to  this  lake  and 
take  as  a  guide  to  the  Firehole  the  stream  which  they  believe 


enced  trappers  and  old  mountaineers,  were  provided  with  thirty 
days'  provisions  and  dispatched  in  search  of  him,  and  by  them  Mr. 
Everts  was  found  on  October  16th,  after  wandering  in  the  foreSt 
for  thirty-seven  days  from  the  time  he  was  lost.  From  the  letter 
of  Mr.  Prichett  addressed  to  Mr.  Gillette,  myself  and  others,  I  quote: 
"We  found  him  on  the  16th  inst.  on  the  summit  of  the  first  big 
mountain  beyond  Warm  Spring  creek,  about  seventy-five  miles  from 
Fort  Ellis.  He  says  he  subsisted  all  this  time  on  one  snow  bird,  two 
small  minnows  and  the  wing  of  a  bird  which  he  found  and  mashed 
between  two  stones,  and  made  some  broth  of  in  a  yeast  powder  can. 
This  was  all,  with  the  exception  of  thistle  roots,  he  had  subsist- 
ed on." 

The  narrative  of  Mr.  Everts,  of  his  thirty-seven  days'  sojourn  in 
the  wilderness  (published  in  Scribner's  Magazine  for  November, 
1871,  and  in  volume  V.  of  the  Montana  Historical  Society  publica- 
tions), furnishes  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  human  endurance,  ex- 
posure, and  escape,  almost  as  incredible  as  it  is  painfully  instructive 
and  entertaining. 


♦Our  general  line  of  travel  from  the  southwest  estuary  of  the 
lake  (Thumb)  to  the  Firehole  river  was  about  one  mile  south  of  the 
present  stage  route.  The  tourist  who  to-day  makes  the  rapid  and 
comfortable  tour  of  the  park  by  stagfe,  looking  south  from  Shoshone 
Point,  may  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  portion  of  the  prostrate  forest 
through  and  over  which  we  struggled,  and  thus  form  some  idea  of 
the  difficulties  which  beset  us  on  our  journey  from  the  lake  to  the 
Firehole  river. 


102      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

will  be  found  flowing  from  it.  They  argued  that  by  so  doing 
we  would  be  relieved  from  all  uncertainty  concerning  the 
course  to  be  pursued  in  order  to  reach  the  Firehole  river; 
but  they  were  easily  persuaded  that  if  the  Firehole  does  take 
its  rise  in  that  lake,  we  can  as  certainly  strike  that  river  by 
pursuing  our  present  westwardly  direction  as  if  we  followed 
the  plan  suggested  by  them.  Hauser  and  I  feel  sure  that 
this  large  lake  is  the  head  of  Snake  river. 

In  the  afternoon  we  passed  another  ridge  and  descended 
into  a  small  open  valley  where  we  found  a  spring  of  good 
water,  and  where  we  are  now  camped,  near  a  very  small 
creek,  which  runs  in  a  direction  a  little  north  of  west,  and 
which  I  believe  flows  to  the  Firehole  or  the  Madison  river. 
Our  direction  of  travel  to-day  has  been  governed  somewhat 
by  our  compasses,  but  we  have  neglected  to  make  allowance 
for  the  variation  of  the  magnetic  needle,  which  I  think  is 
about  twenty  degrees  east  of  the  true  meridian.  Therefore 
in  trying  to  follow  a  westerly  course,  we  have  in  reality 
taken  a  course  about  twenty  degrees  north  of  west. 

As  we  passed  the  large  lake  on  our  left  to-day,  I  observed 
that  there  was  no  ridge  of  land  between  us  and  the  lake; 
therefore  I  believe  that  it  is  in  the  Snake  river  valley,  and 
that  we  have  to-day  twice  crossed  the  main  range  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  fact  that  the  Snake  river  valley  is 
so  readily  accessible  from  Yellowstone  lake,  gives  me  hope 
to-night  that  Mr.  Everts  may  have  made  his  way  out  of  the 
forest  to  some  settlement  in  the  Snake  river  valley. 

There  is  still  four  or  five  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground, 
but  there  is  plenty  of  long  grass  under  it,  and  our  horses  are 
faring  tolerably  well,  and  will  soon  fill  themselves  with 
either  grass  or  snow.  There  is  no  clear  space  large  enough 
for  us  to  pitch  our  tent.  We  have  had  our  supper — an  indif- 
ferent and  scanty  meal — and  each  man  is  now  seeking  with 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      103 

varied  success  a  dry  spot  beneath  the  sheltering  branches  of 
the  pines  whereon  to  spread  his  blankets. 

Some  of  our  party  seem  terribly  fatigued,  and  others  men- 
tally depressed.  The  question  of  our  present  locality  is  still 
unsolved  in  their  minds,  and  has  been  intensified  by  the  dis- 
cussions in  camp  to-night  as  to  whether  or  not  the  large  lake 
we  saw  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Snake  river,  and  they 
ask:  "If  it  does  so,  have  we  re-crossed  the  main  range  to 
the  eastern  slope?"  For  myself  I  do  not  knov>^  of  any  day 
since  we  left  home  when  I  have  been  in  better  spirits.  I 
am  sure  we  are  on  the  right  course  and  feel  no  anxiety. 

The  sky  to-night  is  clear  and  cloudless,  but  the  snow  is 
melting  fast,  and  there  is  a  peculiar  odor  in  the  air  that  gives 
assurance  of  rain  before  morning.  Hedges  (my  bed  fellow) 
and  I  have  selected  our  sleeping  place,  and  I  have  placed 
over  it  a  ridge-pole,  supported  by  branches  of  a  tree,  and 
have  erected  a  "wickiup"  of  green  pine  boughs  overlapping 
like  a  thatched  roof,  which  will  turn  off  the  rain  if  it  comes, 
and  I  have  advised  the  others  of  our  party  to  make  similar 
preparations  for  a  rain.  Hedges  s^ys  that  he  feels  worried 
and  very  much  discouraged. 

Sunday,  September  18,  8  o'clock  a.  m. — There  occurred  a 
half  hour  ago  the  first  serious  mishap  affecting  the  welfare 
of  the  entire  party ;  and  while  the  packers,  Bean  and  Rey- 
nolds, are  repairing  the  damage  resulting  therefrom,  I  will 
go  back  a  few  hours  and  chronicle  in  the  order  of  their  oc- 
currence the  events  of  the  early  morning. 

Mr.  Hedges  and  I,  sleeping  securely  under  the  sheltering 
roof  of  our  pine-thatched  wickiup,  were  aroused  from  our 
sweet  dreams  of  home  about  4  o'clock  this  morning  by  sev- 
eral members  of  our  party,  who  sought  shelter  from  the  rain 
which  came  down  abundantly,  or,  as  a  Westmoreland  deacon 
used  to  say,  "in  cupious  perfusion."  The  rain  storm  broke 
about  3  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  all  of  the  party  except 


J  04      Washburn  Yellowstone  ExrEDiTioN  of  1870. 

Hedges  and  myself  were  well  drenched,  as  their  only  pro- 
tection from  the  rain  was  their  blankets.  An  effort  had 
been  made  by  some  of  the  party  to  kindle  a  fire  under  the 
shelter  of  a  large  standing  tree,  but  with  indifferent  success. 
Hedges  and  I  crawled  out  of  our  dry  blankets,  and  sat  up- 
right, so  as  to  make  as  much  room  as  possible  for  the  others, 
and  we  welcomed  all  our  comrades  to  our  dry  shelter. 
General  Washburn,  who  is  sutler ing  somewhat  from  a  cold, 
was  especially  grateful  for  the  protection  from  the  storm, 
which  continued  until  about  7  o'clock.  The  roof  of  our 
wickiup  had  completely  protected  Hedges  and  myself  from 
the  rain  except  at  one  spot  directly  over  Hedges'  exposed 
ear,  where  a  displacement  of  the  pine  leaves  allowed  a  small 
stream  to  trickle  through  the  roof,  filling  his  ear  with  water, 
much  to  his  discomfort. 

Some  members  of  our  party,  at  our  early  breakfast  this 
morning,  sitting  upon  logs  at  various  distances  from  our 
camp  fire  in  their  half-dried  clothing,  and  eating  their  scanty 
meal  in  silence,  presented  a  sorry  appearance.  Some  are  dis- 
appointed that  we  did  not,  last  night,  reach  the  Firehole 
river,  or  some  large  branch  of  the  Madison,  which  may  guide 
us  homeward,  and  are  wondering  if  we  are  moving  in  the 
right  direction.  I  feel  so  perfectly  confident  that  we  are 
traveling  the  right  course  that  I  am  in  the  best  of  spirits. 
It  may  be  that  my  cheerfulness  is  owing,  in  some  degree,  to 
my  having  dry  clothing  and  a  dry  skin,  which  few  of  my 
comrades  have,  but  I  see  no  reason  for  discouragement.  I 
think  that  Mr.  Hauser  is  the  best  and  most  accurate  judge 
of  distances,  of  heights  of  mountains,  and  direction  of  travel, 
of  any  man  I  know,  and  he  does  not  doubt  that  we  are  mov- 
ing in  the  right  direction.  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  have  my 
opinion  confirmed  by  his  judgment. 

We  had  just  finished  our  breakfast  a  half  hour  ago  when 
something — some  wild  animal,  or,  perhaps,  a  snake — moving 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      105 

in  the  brush  near  where  our  horses  were  picketed,  fright- 
ened three  of  them,  and  in  their  violent  plunging  they  pulled 
up  the  iron  picket  pins  attached  to  their  lariats,  and  dashed 
at  a  gallop  directly  through  our  camp,  over  the  campfire, 
and  upsetting  and  scattering  hither  and  thither  our  cooking 
utensils.  The  iron  picket  pins  flying  through  the  air  at  the 
lariat  ends  narrowly  missed  several  of  our  party,  but  be- 
came entangled  with  the  only  two  sound  pack  saddles  re- 
maining of  the  entire  number  with  which  we  started,  and 
dashed  them  against  the  adjacent  trees,  tearing  off  the  side 
pieces  of  the  saddletrees,  and  rendering  them  useless.  Our 
first  thought  was  that  the  damage  done  was  beyond  repair. 
We  had,  however,  a  few  thin  boards,  the  remnants  of  our 
canned  goods  boxes,  and  from  my  seamless  sack  of  personal 
baggage  I  produced  two  gimlets,  a  screwdriver,  a  pair  of 
nippers,  some  wrought  nails  and  two  dozens  of  screws  of 
various  sizes.  When  all  these  things  were  laid  out,  my  com- 
rades expressed  great  surprise,  for  not  one  of  them  or  the 
packers  had  any  idea  that  there  were  any  tools  or  screws 
in  our  "outfit."  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise 
to  me  that  I  am  the  only  member  of  our  party  who  has  a 
rubber  coat,  or  a  pair  of  oil-tanned  water-proof  boots,  or 
who  has  brought  with  him  any  medicines,  tools,  screws,  etc. ; 
and,  except  myself,  there  is  but  one  member  of  our  party 
(whom  I  will  not  "give  away"  by  here  recording  his  name) 
who  had  the  foresight  to  bring  with  him  a  flask  of  whiskey. 
I  think  we  will  be  known  among  those  who  will  hereafter 
visit  this  marvelous  region  as  "The  Temperance  Party," 
though  some  of  our  number  who  lacked  the  foresight  to  pro- 
vide, before  leaving  Helena,  a  needed  remedy  for  snake  bites, 
have  not  lacked  the  hindsight  required  in  using  it. 

Bean  and  Reynolds  have  just  announced  that  the  pack  sad- 
dles have  been  repaired,  and  that  preparations  are  being 


106      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

made  for  the  start,  so  on  this  hint  I  suspend  mj  record  until 
night. 

Sunday,  September  18,  evening. — We  left  our  morning 
camp  about  9  o'clock,  pursuing  our  uncertain  course  through 
fallen  timber  for  a  distance  of  about  three  miles,  when  we 
had  all  our  fears  of  misdirection  relieved  by  coming  suddenly 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Firehole  river,  the  largest  fork  of  the 
Madison,  down  which  we  followed  five  miles,  passing  several 
groups  of  boiling  springs  and  a  beautiful  cascade*  (to  which 
we  gave  no  name),  when  we  emerged  from  the  dense  forest 
into  a  sequestered  basin  two  miles  above  the  union  of  the 
Firehole  river  with  a  stream  which  comes  in  from  the  south- 
west, the  basin  extending  to  the  width  of  a  mile,  and  travers- 
ing the  river  until  contracted  between  proximate  ranges  two 
miles  below  our  camp. 

I  have  spent  the  entire  afternoon  and  part  of  this  evening 
in  examining  the  geysers  and  springs,  but  will  not  further 
record  the  explorations  of  to-day  until  we  are  ready  to  leave 
the  basin. 

Monday,  September  19. — When  we  left  Yellowstone  lake 
two  days  ago,  the  desire  for  home  had  superceded  all  thought 
of  further  explorations.  Five  days  of  rapid  travel  would, 
we  believed,  bring  us  to  the  upper  valley  of  the  Madison, 
and  within  twenty-five  miles  of  Virginia  City,  and  we  in- 
dulged the  remote  hope  that  we  might  there  find  some  trace 
of  Mr.  Everts.  We  had  within  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  seen 
what  we  believed  to  be  the  greatest  wonders  on  the  continent. 
We  were  convinced  that  there  was  not  on  the  globe  another 
region  where  within  the  same  limits  Nature  had  crowded  so 
much  of  grandeur  and  majesty  with  so  much  of  novelty  and 
wonder.  Judge,  then,  of  our  astonishment  on  entering  this 
basin,  to  see  at  no  great  distance  before  us  an  immense 


♦Called  now  Kepler's  cascade. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      107 

body  of  sparkling  water,  projected  suddenly  and  with  ter- 
rific force  into  the  air  to  the  height  of  over  one  hundred 
feet.  We  had  found  a  real  geyser.  In  the  valley  before  us 
were  a  thousand  hot  springs  of  various  sizes  and  character, 
and  five  hundred  craters  jetting  forth  vapor.  In  one  place 
the  eye  followed  through  crevices  in  the  crust  a  stream  of 
hot  water  of  considerable  size,  running  at  nearly  right 
angles  with  the  river,  and  in  a  direction,  not  towards,  but 
away  from  the  stream.  We  traced  the  course  of  this  stream 
by  the  crevices  in  the  surface  for  twenty  or  thirty  yards.  It 
is  probable  that  it  eventually  flows  into  the  Firehole,  but 
therQ  is  nothing  on  the  surface  to  indicate  to  the  beholder 
the  course  of  its  underground  passage  to  the  river. 

On  the  summit  of  a  cone  twenty-five  feet  high  was  a  boil- 
ing spring  seven  feet  in  diameter,  surrounded  with  beauti- 
ful incrustations,  on  the  slope  of  which  we  gathered  twigs 
encased  in  a  crust  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  On  an 
incrusted  hill  opposite  our  camp  are  four  craters  from 
three  to  five  feet  in  diameter,  sending  forth  steam  jets  and 
water  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  feet.  But  the  marvelous 
features  of  this  wonderful  basin  are  its  spouting  geysers, 
of  which  during  our  brief  stay  of  twenty-two  hours  we  have 
seen  twelve  in  action.  Six  of  these  threw  water  to  the 
height  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  but  in  the  presence  of 
others  of  immense  dimensions  they  soon  ceased  to  attract 
attention. 

Of  the  latter  six,  the  one  we  saw  in  action  on  entering  the 
basin  ejected  from  a  crevice  of  irregular  form,  and  about 
four  feet  long  by  three  wide,  a  column  of  water  of  corre- 
sponding magnitude  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  feet. 
Around  this  crevice  or  mouth  the  sediment  is  piled  in  many 
capricious  shapes,  chiefly  indented  globules  from  six  inches 
to  two  feet  in  diameter.  Little  hollows  in  the  crust  filled 
with  water  contained  small  white  spheres  of  tufa,  of  the 


108      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

size  of  a  nutmeg,  formed  as  it  seemed  to  me  around  some 
nuclei.* 

We  gave  such  names  to  those  of  the  geysers  which  we  saw 
in  action  as  we  think  will  best  illustrate  their  peculiarities. 
The  one  I  have  just  described  General  Washburn  has  named 
"Old  Faithful,"  because  of  the  regularity  of  its  eruptions, 
the  intervals  between  which  being  from  sixty  to  sixty-five 
minutes,  the  column  of  water  being  thrown  at  each  erup- 
tion to  the  height  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet. 


♦An  incident  of  so  amusing  a  character  occurred  soon  after  my 
return  to  Helena,  that  I  cannot  forbear  narrating  it  here.  Among 
the  specimens  of  silica  which  I  brought  home  were  several  dark 
globules  about  the  size  of  nutmegs.  I  exhibited  these  to  a  noted 
physician  of  Helena,  Dr.  Hovaker,  and  soon  after  the  return  of 
Mr.  Gillette  from  his  search  for  Mr.  Everts,  I  called  upon  him  at 
his  store  and  exhibited  to  him  these  specimens  of  silica.  At  the 
same  time  I  took  a  nutmeg  from  a  box  upon  the  store  counter,  and 
playfully  asked  Gillette,  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Hovaker,  if  he  had 
found  any  of  those  singular  incrustations.  Dr.  Hovaker,  believ- 
ing of  course  that  the  specimen  I  held  in  my  hand  came  from  the 
Yellowstone,  took  the  nutmeg,  and  with  wonder  exhibited  in  every 
feature,  proceeded  to  give  it  a  critical  examination,  frequently 
exclaiming:  "How  very  like  it  is  to  a  nutmeg."  He  finally  took 
a  nutmeg  from  a  box  near  by,  and  balanced  the  supposed  incrusta- 
tion with  it,  declaring  the  former  to  be  the  lighter.  Asking  my 
permission  to  do  so,  he  took  the  nutmeg  (which  he  supposed  to 
be  an  incrustation)  to  a  jeweler  in  the  vicinity,  and  broke  it.  The 
aroma  left  him  no  doubt  as  to  its  character,  but  he  was  still  de- 
ceived as  to  its  origin.  When  I  saw  him  returning  to  the  store, 
in  anticipation  of  the  reproof  I  should  receive,  I  started  for  the 
rear  door;  but  the  Doctor,  entering  before  I  reached  it,  called  me 
back,  and  in  a  most  excited  manner  declared  that  we  had  discov- 
ered real  nutmegs,  and  nutmegs  of  a  very  superior  quality.  He 
had  no  doubt  that  Yellowstone  lake  was  surrounded  by  nutmeg 
trees,  and  that  each  cf  our  incrustations  contained  a  veritable  nut- 
meg. In  his  excitement  he  even  proposed  to  organize  a  small 
party  to  go  immediately  to  the  locality  to  gather  nutmegs,  and  had 
an  interview  with  Charley  Curtis  on  the  subject  of  furnishing  pack 
animals  for  purposes  of  transportation.  When,  on  the  following 
day,  he  ascertained  the  truth,  after  giving  me  a  characteristic 
lecture,  he  revenged  himself  by  good  naturedly  conferring  upon 
the  members  of  our  party  the  title,  by  which  he  always  called 
them  thereafter,   of  "Nutmegs." 

N.  P.  Langfokd. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      109 

The  "Fan"  has  a  distorted  pipe  from  which  are  projected 
two  radiating  sheets  of  water  to  the  height  of  sixty  feet,  re- 
sembling a  feather  fan.  Forty  feet  from  this  geyser  is  a 
vent  connected  with  it,  two  feet  in  diameter,  which,  during 


OLD  FAITHFUL. 

Named  by  General  Washburn. 


the  eruption,  expels  with  loud  reports  dense  volumes  of  va- 
por to  the  height  of  fifty  feet. 

The  "Grotto,"  so  named  from  the  singularly  winding  aper- 
tures penetrating  the  sinter  surrounding  it,  was  at  rest  when 


110      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

we  first  discovered  it.  Externally  it  presented  few  indica- 
tions of  its  character  as  a  geyser.  Private  Williamson,  one 
of  our  escort,  crawled  through  an  aperture  and  looked  into 
the  discharging  orifice.  When  afterwards,  he  saw  it  belch- 
ing forth  a  column  of  boiling  water  two  feet  in  diameter  to 
the  height  of  sixty  feet,  and  a  scalding  stream  of  two  hun- 
dred square  inches  flowing  from  the  cavern  he  had  entered 
a  short  time  before,  he  said  that  he  felt  like  one  who  had 
narrowly  escaped  being  summarily  cooked. 

The  "Castle"  is  on  the  summit  of  an  incrusted  elevation. 
This  name  was  given  because  of  its  resemblance  to  the  ruins 
of  some  old  tower  with  its  broken  down  turrets.  The  sili- 
cious  sinter  composing  the  formation  surrounding  it  takes 
the  form  of  small  globules,  resembling  a  ripe  cauliflower, 
and  the  massive  nodules  indicate  that  at  some  former  period 
the  flow  of  water  must  have  been  much  larger  than  at  pres- 
ent. The  jet  is  sixty  feet  high  by  four  feet  in  diameter,  and 
the  vent  near  it,  which  is  in  angry  ebullition  during  the 
eruption,  constantly  flows  with  boiling  water. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  of  the  springs  in  this  basin  is 
that  of  ultra-marine  hue  directly  in  front  of  the  "Castle" 
geyser.  It  is  nearly  round,  having  diameters  of  about  twen- 
ty and  twenty-five  feet,  the  sides  being  corrugated  and  fun- 
nel-shaped, and  at  the  depth  of  thirty  feet  opening  out  into 
a  cavern  of  unfathomable  depth,  the  rim  of  the  spring  hav- 
ing beautifully  escalloped  edges.  It  does  not  boil  over,  but  a 
very  small  stream  of  water  flows  from  it,  and  it  is  not 
afifected  in  its  appearance  by  the  spouting  of  the  geyser  in 
its  immediate  proximity.  There  is  evidently  no  connection 
between  this  spring  and  the  geyser. 

The  "Giant"  is  a  rugged  deposit  presenting  in  form  a 
miniature  model  of  the  Colosseum.  It  has  an  opening  three 
feet  in  diameter.  A  remarkable  characteristic  of  this  gey- 
ser is  the  duration  of  its  discharges,  which  yesterday  after- 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.       I  LI 

noon  continued  for  more  than  an  hour  in  a  steady  stream 
about  three  feet  in  diameter  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet  high. 

Opposite  our  camp,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Firehole  river, 
is  a  symmetrical  cone  resembling  an  old-fashioned  straw 
beehive  with  the  top  cut  off.  It  is  about  five  feet  in  diameter 
at  its  base,  with  an  irregular  oval-shaped  orifice  having  es- 
calloped  edges,  and  of  twenty-four  by  thirty-six  inches  in- 
terior diameter.  No  one  supposed  that  it  was  a  geyser,  and 
until  this  morning,  among  so  many  wonders,  it  had  escaped 
a  second  notice.  Suddenly,  while  we  were  at  breakfast  this 
morning,  a  column  of  water  shot  from  it,  which  by  quite 
accurate  triangular  measurement  proved  to  be  two  hundred 
and  nineteen  feet  in  height.  Our  method  of  triangulation 
was  as  follows :  A  point  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  was 
marked,  which  was  in  a  direct  line  with  a  branch  of  a  tree 
near  by,  and  of  the  top  of  the  column  of  water  when  at  its 
greatest  height.  Having  obtained  the  perpendicular  height 
of  the  branch  of  the  tree  from  the  ground,  and  the  distance 
from  this  perpendicular  to  the  point  of  observation  and  to 
the  geyser  cone,  we  were  enabled  to  make  a  very  accurate 
calculation  of  the  height  of  the  column  of  water.  We  named 
this  geyser  the  ^'Bee  Hive." 

Near  by  is  situated  the  ^^Giantess,"  the  largest  of  all  the 
geysers  we  saw  in  eruption.  Ascending  a  gentle  slope  for 
a  distance  of  sixty  yards  we  came  to  a  sink  or  well  of  an 
irregular  oval  shape,  fifteen  by  twenty  feet  across,  into 
which  we  could  see  to  the  depth  of  fifty  feet  or  more,  but 
could  discover  no  water,  though  we  could  distinctly  hear 
it  gurgling  and  boiling  at  a  fearful  rate  afar  down  this  ver- 
tical cavern.  Suddenly  it  commenced  spluttering  and  rising 
with  incredible  rapidity,  causing  a  general  stampede  among 
our  company,  who  all  moved  around  to  the  windward  side 
of  the  geyser.     When  the  water  had  risen    within    about 


112      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

twenty-five  feet  of  the  surface,  it  became  stationary,  and 
we  returned  to  look  down  upon  the  foaming  water,  which 
occasionally  emitted  hot  jets  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the 
orifice.  As  if  tired  of  this  sport  the  water  began  to  ascend 
at  the  rate  of  five  feet  in  a  second,  and  when  near  the  top  it 
was  expelled  with  terrific  momentum  in  a  column  the  full 
size  of  the  immense  aperture  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet.  The 
column  remained  at  this  height  for  the  space  of  about  a 
minute,  when  from  the  apex  of  this  vast  aqueous  mass  five 
lesser  jets  or  round  columns  of  water  varying  in  size  from 
six  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter  shot  up  into  the  atmos- 
phere to  the  amazing  height  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
This  was  without  exception  the  most  magnificent  phenom- 
enon I  ever  beheld.  We  were  standing  on  the  side  of  the 
geyser  exposed  to  the  sun,  whose  sparkling  rays  filled  the 
ponderous  column  with  what  appeared  to  be  the  clippings 
of  a  thousand  rainbows.  These  prismatic  illusions  disap- 
peared, only  to  be  succeeded  by  myriads  of  others  which 
continually  fluttered  and  sparkled  through  the  spray  dur- 
ing the  twenty  minutes  the  eruption  lasted.  These  lesser 
jets,  thrown  so  much  higher  than  the  main  column  and 
shooting  through  it,  doubtless  proceed  from  auxiliary  pipes 
leading  into  the  principal  orifice  near  the  bottom,  where  the 
explosive  force  is  greater.  The  minute  globules  into  which 
the  spent  column  was  diffused  when  falling  sparkled  like  a 
shower  of  diamonds,  and  around  every  shadow  produced  by 
the  column  of  steam  hiding  the  sun  was  the  halo  so  oftvin 
represented  in  paintings  as  encircling  the  head  of  the  Savio. 
We  unhesitatingly  agreed  that  this  was  the  greatest  wonder 
of  our  trip. 

Mr.  Hedges  and  I  forded  the  Firehole  river  a  short  dis- 
tance below  our  camp.'  The  current,  as  it  dashed  over  the 
boulders,  was  swift,  and,  taking  off  our  boots  and  stockings, 
we  selected  for  our  place  of  crossing  what  seemed  to  be  a 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      113 

smooth  rock  surface  in  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  extending 
from  shore  to  shore.  When  I  reached  the  middle  of  the 
stream  I  paused  a  moment  and  turned  around  to  speak  to 
Mr.  Hedges,  who  was  about  entering  the  stream,  when  I 
discovered  from  the  sensation  of  warmth  under  my  feet  that 
I  was  standing  upon  an  incrustation  formed  over  a  hot 
spring  that  had  its  vent  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  I  ex- 
claimed to  Hedges :  "Here  is  the  river  which  Bridger  said 
was  hot  at  tJie  hottom.^^* 

How  many  more  geysers  than  those  we  saw  in  eruption 
there  are  in  this  remarkable  basin,  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine. We  will  be  compelled  reluctantly  to  leave  it  before 
it  can  be  half  explored.  At  least  a  thousand  pipes  rise  to 
the  plain,  one  or  two  hundred  of  which,  to  all  appearances, 
are  as  likely  to  be  geysers  as  any  we  have  seen. 

This  entire  country  is  seemingly  under  a  constant  and 
active  internal  pressure  from  volcanic  forces,  which  seek 
relief  through  the  numberless  springs,  jets,  volcanoes  and 
geysers  exhibited  on  its  surface,  and  which  but  for  these 
vents  might  burst  forth  in  one  terrific  eruption  and  form  a 
volcano  of  vast  dimensions.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that 
many  of  the  objects  we  see  are  of  recent  formation,  and  that 
many  of  the  extinguished  craters  recently  ceased  their  con- 
dition of  activity.  They  are  constantly  breaking  forth,  often 


*James  Bridger  was  famous  for  the  marvelous  stories  he  was 
accustomed  to  relate  of  his  mountain  life  and  experiences.  He 
once  told  me  that  he  had  seen  a  river  which  flowed  so  rapidly  over 
the  smooth  surface  of  a  descending  rock  ledge  in  the  bottom  of 
the  stream,  that  the  water  was  "hot  at  the  bottom."  My  experi- 
ence in  crossing  the  Firehole  river  that  day,  leads  me  to  believe 
that  Bridger  had  had,  at  some  time,  a  similar  experience.  He  well 
knew  that  heat  and  fire  could  be  produced  by  friction.  Like  other 
mountain  men,  he  had  doubtless,  many  a  time,  produced  a  fire  by 
friction;  and  he  could  not  account  for  the  existence  of  a  hot  rock 
in  the  bed  of  a  cold  stream,  except  upon  the  theory  that  the  rapid 
flow  of  water  over  the  smooth  surface  evolved  the  heat,  by  friction. 

N.  P.  Langford. 


114      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

assuming  new  forms,  and  attesting  to  the  active  presence 
of  volcanic  force. 

The  water  in  some  of  the  springs  presents  to  the  eye  the 
colors  of  all  the  precious  gems  known  to  commerce.  In  one 
spring  the  hue  is  like  that  of  an  emerald,  in  another  like 
that  of  the  turquoise,  another  has  the  ultra-marine  hue  of 
the  sapphire,  another  has  the  color  of  the  topaz;  and  the 
suggestion  has  been  made  that  the  names  of  these  jewels 
may  very  properly  be  given  to  many  of  these  springs. 

The  packers  with  the  pack  train  and  several  of  our  party 
broke  camp  at  9:30  this  morning,  a  few  of  us  remaining 
for  an  hour,  hoping  to  have  another  view  of  an  eruption  of 
the  "Giantess;"  but  in  this  we  were  disappointed,  for  it 
gave  no  sign  of  an  eruption,  save  that  the  water,  visible  gen- 
erally at  a  depth  of  about  twenty  feet,  would  rise  suddenly 
eight  or  ten  feet  in  the  well,  and  as  suddenly  fall  again. 

We  moved  down  the  river  on  the  east  bank,  part  of  the 
way  through  an  open  valley  and  part  through  fallen  timber. 
At  about  eight  miles  we  came  upon  an  enormous  spring  of 
dark  blue  water,  the  largest  we  have  seen.  Mr.  Hauser 
measured  it,  and  says  it  is  four  hundred  feet  in  diameter. 
The  mineral  solution  has  been  deposited  by  the  overflow 
on  all  sides  for  two  hundred  yards,  the  spring  itself  being 
thirty  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  valley.  Out  near 
the  center  of  the  lake  the  water  boils  up  a  few  feet,  but 
without  any  especial  violent  action.  The  lake  has  no  well- 
defined  outlet,  but  overflows  on  many  sides,  the  water  flow- 
ing down  the  slopes  of  the  incrusted  mound  about  one-quar- 
ter of  an  inch  deep.  As  we  stood  on  the  margin  of  this  im- 
mense lake  a  small  flock  of  ducks  came  sailing  down  as  if 
to  alight ;  but  as  they  skimmed  the  water  a  few  inches  above 
the  surface,  they  seemed  to  scent  danger,  and  with  rapid 
flapping  of  their  wings,  all  except  one  rose  into  the  air. 
This  one,  in  his  descent,  had  gained  too  great  an  impetus 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      115 

to  check  his  progress,  and  came  down  into  the  water,  and 
his  frantic  efforts  to  rise  again  were  futile,  and  with  one  or 
two  loud  squawks  of  distress,  which  were  responded  to  by 
his  mates  who  had  escaped,  he  was  in  a  moment  "a  dead 
duck."     We  gave  no  name  to  this  lake.* 

About  one  hundred  yards  from  the  lake  on  the  side 
towards  the  river,  the  incrustation  breaks  off  perpendicu- 
larly, and  another  large  lake  is  formed,  the  surface  of  which 
is  about  fifteen  feet  below  the  upper  and  larger  lake.  There 
are  a  few  other  springs  near  the  river  farther  down  the 
stream. 

Jake  Smith,  for  the  first  time  on  this  trip,  selected  at  this 
large  lake  a  curious  specimen  of  tufa.  It  was  a  circum- 
stance so  unusual  that  Hedges  called  our  attention  to  it, 
but  as  Smith  was  riding  along  holding  his  treasure  carefully 
in  his  hand,  his  horse  stumbled,  and  he  accidentally  dropped 
his  specimen,  and  with  a  remark  which  I  will  not  here  re- 
cord, and  which  is  at  variance  with  his  own  Bible  instruc- 
tion, he  denounced  as  worthless  all  the  specimens  of  the 
party  which  he  had  seen,  and  inveighed  against  the  folly  of 
spending  any  time  in  gathering  them. 

From  this  point  we  passed  down  the  valley  close  by  the 
bank  of  the  river.  The  valley  on  our  right  was  very  marshy, 
and  we  saw  at  a  considerable  distance  one  very  large  foun- 
tain of  water  spouting  into  the  atmosphere  to  a  considerable 
height,  and  many  steam  jets,  but,  owing  to  the  swampy  char- 
acter of  the  ground,  we  did  not  visit  them.* 

When  we  left  Helena  on  August  17th,  we  believed  that 

twenty-five  days  would  be  the  limit  of  time  which  would 

be  consumed  before  our  return ;   but  to  meet  all  exigencies 

*This  lake  is  now  called  "Hell's  Half-acre;"  and  from  the  lower 
lake  the  "Excelsior"  geyser  has  burst  forth. 


*The  fountain  and  jets  here  referred  to  are  those  of  the  Lower 
Geyser  Basin,  and  the  larger  column  of  water  which  we  saw  is 
undoubtedly  the  "Fountain"  geyser,  named  by  Dr.  Hayden  in  1871. 


116      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  op  1870. 

we  laid  in  a  thirty  days'  supply  of  provisions.  We  have 
now  been  absent  thirty-four  days,  and  as  we  cached  some 
of  our  supply  on  Yellowstone  lake  for  Mr.  Everts'  relief,  we 
are  now  on  short  rations,  but  the  fish  we  dried  while  camped 
on  Yellowstone  lake  are  doing  good  service. 

While  riding  to-day  alongside  of  Stickney  and  bemoan- 
ing the  lack  in  our  larder  of  many  articles  of  food,  such  as 
sugar,  coffee  and  tea,  the  supply  of  which  has  become  ex- 
hausted, I  asked  him  if  he  was  fond  of  maple  sugar,  and 
would  like  a  lump  of  it.  He  requested  me  not  to  tantalize 
him  by  mentioning  the  subject,  whereupon  I  astonished 
him  by  producing  a  goodly  sized  cake  which  I  had  brought 
with  me  from  Helena,  and  which  for  five  weeks  I  had  pre- 
served untouched  in  my  seamless  sack.  It  was  enjoyed  by 
all  who  shared  it,  but  Stickney  was  especially  grateful  for 
his  division  of  the  sweet  morsel,  and  received  it  gratefully 
and  gracefully,  and  seemingly  without  reluctance,  at  the 
same  time  remarking,  ^'You  are  always  doing  something  to 
make  me  laugh!"  and  added,  ^^You  always  seem  to  have 
another  card  up  your  sleeve  when  an  emergency  arises." 
By  this  last  figure  of  speech  he  delicately  suggested  to  me 
the  methods  adopted  by  Jake  Smith  in  playing  poker.* 

We  have  traveled  to-day  about  eighteen  miles,  crossing 
just  before  the  day  closed  a  timbered  ridge,  and  we  are 
now  camped  at  the  junction  of   the    Firehole  river  with  a 


*In  the  course  of  a  recent  correspondence  with  Mr.  Stickney,  I 
asked  him  if  he  recalled  this  incident.  Under  date  of  May  20,  1905, 
he  wrote  me  from  Sarasota,  Florida:  "The  maple  sugar  incident 
had  almost  faded  from  my  memory,  but  like  a  spark  of  fire  smoul- 
dering under  rubbish  it  needed  but  a  breath  to  make  it  live,  and  I 
recall  my  reflections,  after  my  astonishment,  that  you  did  so  many 
quaint  things,  that  it  was  quite  in  accordance  with  them  that  you 
should  produce  maple  sugar  in  a  sulphurous  region." 

N.  P.  Langford. 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      117 

stream  coming  into  it  from  the  east  nearly  as  large  as  the 
Firehole,  but  to  which  we  have  given  no  name.* 

Tuesday,  September  20. — We  broke  camp  at  half  past 
nine  o'clock,  traveling  along  the  rocky  edge  of  the  river 
bank  by  the  rapids,  passing  thence  through  a  beautiful  pine 
wood  and  over  a  long  stretch  of  fallen  timber,  blackened 
by  fire,  for  about  four  miles,  when  we  again  reached  the 
river,  which  here  bends  in  a  westerly  direction.  Lieutenant 
Doane  and  I  climbed  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  two  prominent 
hills  on  our  course,  and  had  a  fine  view  of  the  country  for  the 
distance  of  thirty  miles. 

Last  night,  and  also  this  morning  in  camp,  the  entire 
party  had  a  rather  unusual  discussion.  The  proposition 
was  made  by  some  member  that  we  utilize  the  result  of  our 
exploration  by  taking  up  quarter  sections  of  land  at  the 
most  prominent  points  of  interest,  and  a  general  discussion 
followed.  One  member  of  our  party  suggested  that  if  there 
could  be  secured  b}^  pre-emption  a  good  title  to  two  or  three 
quarter  sections  of  land  opposite  the  lower  fall  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone and  extending  down  the  river  along  the  canon, 
they  would  eventually  become  a  source  of  great  profit  to 
the  owners.  Another  member  of  the  party  thought  that  it 
would  be  more  desirable  to  take  up  a  quarter  section  of 
land  at  the  Upper  Geyser  Basin,  for  the  reason  that  that 
locality  could  be  more  easily  reached  by  tourists  and  pleas- 
ure seekers.  A  third  suggestion  was  that  each  member  of 
the  party  pre-empt  a  claim,  and  in  order  that  no  one  should 
have  an  advantage  over  the  others,  the  whole  should  be 
thrown  into  a  common  pool  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire 
party. 

Mr.  Hedges  then  said  that  he  did  not  approve  of  any  of 
these  plans — that  there  ought  to  be  no  private  ownership 


♦This  stream  was  afterwards  named  "Gibbon  river." 


118      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

of  any  portion  of  that  region,  but  that  the  whole  of  it  ought 
to  be  set  apart  as  a  great  National  Park,  and  that  each  one 
of  us  ought  to  make  an  effort  to  have  this  accomplished. 
His  suggestion  met  with  an  instantaneous  and  favorable  re- 
sponse from  all — except  one — of  the  members  of  our  party, 
and  each  hour  since  the  matter  was  first  broached,  our  en- 
thusiasm has  increased.  It  has  been  the  main  theme  of  our 
conversation  to-day  as  we  journeyed.  I  lay  awake  half  of 
last  night  thinking  about  it; — and  if  my  wakefulness  de- 
prived my  bed-fellow  (Hedges)  of  any  sleep,  he  has  only 
himself  and  his  disturbing  National  Park  proposition  to 
answer  for  it. 

Our  purpose  to  create  a  park  can  only  be  accomplished 
by  untiring  work  and  concerted  action  in  a  warfare  against 
the  incredulity  and  unbelief  of  our  National  legislators 
when  our  proposal  shall  be  presented  for  their  approval. 
Nevertheless,  I  believe  we  can  win  the  battle. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  portion  of  our  country  where  a  na- 
tional park  can  be  established  furnishing  to  visitors  more 
wonderful  attractions  than  here.  These  wonders  are  so  dif- 
ferent from  anything  we  have  ever  seen — they  are  so  various, 
so  extensive — that  the  feeling  in  my  mind  from  the  moment 
they  began  to  appear  until  we  left  them  has  been  one  of  in- 
tense surprise  and  of  incredulity.  Every  day  spent  in  sur- 
veying them  has  revealed  to  me  some  new  beauty,  and  now 
that  I  have  left  them,  I  begin  to  feel  a  skepticism  which 
clothes  them  in  a  memory  clouded  by  doubt. 

Wednesday,  September  21. — We  broke  camp  soon  after  9 
o'clock,  traveling  northwesterly  down  the  stream,  which  at 
six  miles  entered  a  canon  extending  ten  miles  in  a  very 
tortuous  course,  the  stream  gradually  bending  to  the  west. 
The  sides  of  the  canon  are  steep,  and  a  great  many  small 
lateral  streams  flow  into  it,  forming  cascades  of  remarkable 
beauty.     There  are  also  many  springs  gushing  out  from  the 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      119 

sides  of  the  canon  afar  up.  Below  the  canon  we  traveled 
over  a  high  ridge  for  the  distance  of  ten  miles,  and  camped 
in  a  deep  coulee,  where  we  found  good  water  and  an  abun- 
dance of  wood  and  grass.  Mr.  Hauser  and  Mr.  Stickney 
all  through  the  day  were  a  few  miles  in  advance  of  the  rest 
of  the  party,  and  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  canon  they 
met  two  men  who  manifested  some  alarm  at  sight  of  them. 
They  had  a  supply  of  provisions  packed  on  riding  saddles, 
and  were  walking  beside  their  horses.  Mr.  Hauser  told 
them  that  they  would  meet  a  large  party  up  the  canon,  but 
we  did  not  see  them,  and  they  evidently  cached  themselves 
as  we  went  by.  The  Upper  Madison  in  this  vicinity  is  said 
to  be  a  rendezvous  for  horse  thieves.  We  have  traveled 
about  twenty-five  miles  to-day. 

As  the  outcome  of  a  general  conversation  to-night,  I  will 
leave  the  party  to-morrow  morning,  and  start  for  Virginia 
City,  where  I  have  a  forlorn  hope  that  some  tidings  may  be 
had  of  Mr.  Everts.  We  think  that  Virginia  City  is  not  more 
than  thirty  miles  distant;  but,  as  we  are  not  now  on  any 
trail  leading  to  it,  I  shall  have  to  take  my  chances  of  find- 
ing it. 

Jake  Smith  to-day  asked  me  if  I  expected  that  the  read- 
ers of  my  diary  would  believe  what  I  had  written.  He  said 
that  he  had  kept  no  diary  for  the  reason  that  our  discoveries 
had  been  of  such  a  novel  character,  that  if  he  were  to  write 
an  account  of  them  he  would  not  be  believed  by  those  who 
read  his  record,  and  he  would  be  set  down  as  a  liar.  He 
said  that  he  did  not  mind  being  called  a  liar  by  those  who 
had  known  him  well  for  many  years,  but  he  would  not  allow 
strangers  that  privilege.  This  ambiguous  remark  indicates 
that  Jake  has  more  wit  and  philosophy  than  I  have  given 
him  the  credit  of  possessing. 

Thursday,  September  22,  Virginia  City. — With  a  small 
supply  of  needed  creature  comforts  (lunch,  etc.),  I  left  the 


120      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

party  early  this  morning,  uncertain  as  to  the  time  which 
would  be  required  to  take  me  to  Virginia  City.  About  noon 
I  met  a  horseman  who  had  left  Virginia  City  this  morning, 
who  directed  me  to  the  trail  leading  to  the  town.  He  paused 
long  enough  to  let  me  scan  a  newspaper  which  he  had,  from 
which  I  learned  of  the  capitulation  of  the  French  at  Sedan. 
I  asked  him  to  hand  the  newspaper  to  General  Washburn, 
whose  party  he  would  meet  in  the  Madison  valley.  He  said 
that  he  would  stop  at  the  cabin  of  ^'Bannack  George." 

The  distance  from  our  morning  camp  to  this  place  is  much 
farther  than  we  thought,  and  it  was  9  o'clock  this  evening 
before  I  reached  Virginia  City.  Nothing  has  been  heard  of 
Mr.  Everts,  and  his  friends  are  shocked  at  the  intelligence 
of  his  loss  from  our  party. 

Owing  to  the  late  hour  of  my  arrival  I  have  met  but  few 
of  my  old  acquaintances,  but  these  are  greatly  interested  in 
the  result  of  our  explorations,  and  I  have  promised  to  re- 
main here  another  day  before  starting  for  Helena,  and  give 
them  a  further  description  of  what  I  have  seen.  I  have  en- 
joyed one  good  square  meal. 

Tuesday,  September  27,  Helena. — I  reached  Helena  last 
night.  The  intelligence  of  my  arrival  in  Virginia  City,  and 
of  the  loss  of  Mr.  Everts  from  our  party,  had  been  tele- 
graphed to  Helena  from  Virginia  City,  and  on  my  arrival 
I  was  besieged  by  many  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Everts  for  in- 
formation concerning  the  manner  in  which  he  became  sepa- 
rated from  our  party.  I  have  spent  the  larger  part  of  this 
day  in  describing  the  many  wonders  which  we  found  on  our 
trip,  and  I  shall  be  most  glad  to  have  a  few  days'  rest  and 
put  on  some  of  my  lost  flesh.  At  the  outset  of  this  journey 
I  tipped  the  beam  of  the  scales  at  a  little  over  one  hundred 
and  ninety  (190)  pounds,  and  to-day  I  weigh  but  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  (155)  pounds,  a  loss  of  thirty-five  (35) 
pounds.     One  of  my  friends  says  that  I  may  consider  myself 


Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870.      121 

fortunate  in  bringing  back  to  civilization  as  much  of  my 
body  as  I  did.  I  have  already  received  several  invitations 
from  householders  to  meet  their  families  and  friends  at  their 
homes,  and  tell  them  of  our  trip,  but  the  present  dilapidated 
condition  of  my  toilet  renders  it  necessary  for  me  to  decline 
their  hospitalities  until  some  future  period.  My  first  duty 
to  myself  and  my  fellow  citizens  is  to  seek  a  tailor  and  re- 
plenish my  wardrobe.  Jake  Smith  is  the  only  one  of  our 
party  who  has  returned  with  a  garment  fit  to  wear  in  the 
society  of  ladies. 

My  narrations  to-day  have  excited  great  wonder,  and  I 
cannot  resist  the  conviction  that  many  of  my  auditors  be- 
lieve that  I  have  "drawn  a  long  bow"  in  my  descriptions.  1 
am  perfectly  free  to  acknowledge  that  this  does  not  surprise 
me.  It  seems  a  most  natural  thing  for  them  to  do  so ;  for, 
in  the  midst  of  my  narrations,  I  find  myself  almost  as  ready 
to  doubt  the  reality  of  the  scenes  I  have  attempted  to  de- 
scribe as  the  most  skeptical  of  my  listeners.  They  pass 
along  my  memory  like  the  faintly  defined  outlines  of  a 
dream.  And  when  I  dwell  upon  their  strange  peculiarities, 
their  vastness,  their  variety,  and  the  distinctive  features  of 
novelty  which  mark  them  all,  so  entirely  out  of  the  range 
of  all  objects  that  compose  the  natural  scenery  and  won- 
ders of  this  continent,  I  who  have  seen  them  can  scarcely 
realize  that  in  those  far-off  recesses  of  the  mountains  they 
have  existed  so  long  in  impenetrable  seclusion,  and  that 
hereafter  they  will  stand  foremost  among  the  natural  at- 
tractions of  the  world.  Astonishment  and  wonder  become 
so  firmly  impressed  upon  the  mind  in  the  presence  of  these 
objects,  that  belief  stands  appalled,  and  incredulity  is  dumb. 
You  can  see  Niagara,  comprehend  its  beauties,  and  carry 
from  it  a  memory  ever  ready  to  summon  before  you  all  its 
grandeur.  You  can  stand  in  the  valley  of  the  Yosemite, 
and  look  up  its  mile  of  vertical  granite,  and  distinctly  recall 


122      Washburn  Yellowstone  Expedition  of  1870. 

its  minutest  feature;  but  amid  the  canon  and  falls,  the  boil- 
ing springs  and  sulphur  mountain,  and,  above  all,  the  mud 
volcano  and  the  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone,  your  memory 
becomes  filled  and  clogged  with  objects  new  in  experience, 
wonderful  in  extent,  and  possessing  unlimited  grandeur  and 
beauty.  It  is  a  new  phase  in  the  natural  world;  a  fresh 
exhibition  of  the  handiwork  of  the  Great  Architect;  and, 
while  you  see  and  wonder,  you  seem  to  need  an  additional 
sense,  fully  to  comprehend  and  believe. 


APPENDIX, 


It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  our  expedition  was  not 
accompanied  by  an  expert  photographer;  but  at  the  time 
of  our  departure  from  Helena,  no  one  skilled  in  the  art 
could  be  found  with  whom  the  hazards  of  the  journey  did 
not  outweigh  any  seeming  advantage  or  compensation 
which  the  undertaking  promised. 

The  accompanying  sketches  of  the  two  falls  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone, and  of  the  cones  of  the  Grand  and  Castle  geysers, 
were  made  by  Walter  Trumbull  and  Private  Moore.  They 
are  the  very  first  ever  made  of  these  objects.  Through  an 
inadvertence  in  the  preparation  of  the  electroyped  plates 
for  the  printer,  they  did  not  appear  in  their  proper  places 
in  this  diary.  Major  Hiram  M.  Chittenden,  in  his  volume 
^'The  Yellowstone  Park,"  says  of  the  two  sketches  made  by 
Private  Moore:  "His  quaint  sketches  of  the  falls  forcibly 
remind  one  of  the  original  picture  of  Niagara,  made  by 
Father  Hennepin,  in  1697." 


GIANT  GEYSER  CONE. 
Original  Sketch. 


CASTLE  GEYSER  CONE, 
Original  Sketch. 


DOING  GUARD  DUTY. 

Original  Sketch. 


UPPER  FALL  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE. 

Original  Sketch. 


;/ 


ictore.. 


w- *  i  OH  e. 


LOWER  FALL  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE. 

Original  Sketch. 


F72Z 
12^ 


